The Missing Demigod
by WisdomOceanDemigod
Summary: Logan Moore has been kicked from numerous schools and made fun of about his ADHD, dyslexia and ADD and how he's the only one with all those problems. Little does he know that his crush, Christina Blake, has ADHD and dyslexia. And little does he know that it marks him as a target.
1. A 'lovely' Day at My Mental School

**Logan:**

Ok, look, before you get any ideas about how all this came to be and you think this is awesome, stop. Just…stop. I never asked to be bullied, getting socked in the stomach, failing my PE exam, or anything else that was bodily damage. I didn't even ask to run another fifteen laps around a huge gym if my class didn't run faster or choose a near-by-death warranty. And lately, my decisions haven't been that easy and I didn't have all the time in the world to decide on it either. So, just to give you a bit of background before I start on the long and complicated and sometimes absolutely, uh, exaggerated quest that I did _not_ want, here it is:

"Logan, honey, get up or you'll be late for school!" my mom said, down the hallway.

"Ok mom," I grumbled as I got out of bed, checking the clock. "I've got en-oh my god! I've only got 20 minutes!" I yelped.

Soon I had gotten dressed and was in the kitchen.

Ok, let me tell you about my mom before I go to school and forget to tell you later. My mom is the nicest, funniest mom in the world. She has never yelled at me, gotten mad, or punished me (though my grades could never get above a C and I have been kicked out of numerous schools). I was also born with ADHD, have dyslexia and was diagnosed with ADD yet my mom still thinks that there's nothing wrong with _almost _being the only one in school with that many mental difficulties. (Notice how I said _almost._)

I finished a bowl of cereal hastily, brushed my teeth, gave a quick goodbye to my mom and shot out the door like a rocket. I checked my watch, cursing silently under my breath as I realized that I had only five minutes left.

I managed to catch a taxi, and told the driver where to go. As the cab sped down 5th Avenue, I thought about the exams that were today, and how was I ever going to make the grade in Mr. Johnson's class.

"Here we are," said the taxi driver. "That will be five dollars and eighty cents. I paid him in exact change and jumped out, sprinting towards first period, P.E. So like I was saying in the first place, when Coach Nusley was threatening us to become the fastest land animal alive, that's when my day began to go wrong. I looked at the water fountain, desperate for a drink. I was about to head for the fountain, when I remembered Coach's first words at the beginning of the year: 'You are not allowed to get a drink unless you think you're going to pass out, or you have finished your warm-ups.'

_Yeah, or until you really _have_ passed out_, I thought. What kind of mad man made a rule like that anyway?

I looked around and my eyes fell on Griffin Woodland, my best and only friend. He was scrawny with bits of wispy hair on his chin and curly brown hair. He was sitting down in the bleaches with his crutches next to him. Griffin was excused from P.E. because of a muscular disease that was spreading through his legs and since we were all required to take P.E., he was required to be present at least in class. I mean, he 'walk' for like a few minutes but he can't walk for long periods like everyone else. But don't let the fact that he's cripple completely mess you up. You should seem him limp quickly/run when he's got Mackenzie-a girl with a rat face and bullies everyone-chasing him down, screaming how he ate her homework or class work. He just about ate anything which was pretty weird but then again, I couldn't say anything considering I was ADHD, ADD and dyslexic.

Anyways, I was thinking about how I was going to get a drink of water without being noticed by Coach Nusley. Coach's warning began to echo through my head making it spin. Maybe I could lie and say that I felt like I was going to pass out. But wait. That would make me look pathetic in front of everyone. Not just that, I would fail Coach's exam. Nevertheless, that didn't matter. What kind of exam is this if the teacher keeps assigning more of it? I looked at the water fountain, then at Coach, and back at the fountain. Coach was too intent on grading the kids, glancing up every few seconds.

_Maybe I can catch up to a group of kids, blend in with them until the water fountain is close enough and then snatch a drink of water_, I thought.

I scanned the gym for a cluster of kids and found some boys that were always hanging with one another, loosely scattered but close enough for me to blend in. I jogged a little faster until I was right behind the last one. I got right next to him and an idea crossed my mind. Maybe I could pretend that I was one of them and be talking to them and then Coach just might assume that I'm interested into talking with them.

"Hey," I said to one random kid.

"Hi. Who are you?" the kid asked.

"I'm Logan Moore. You?"

"My name is Cameron. Cameron Hall. What are you doing here in this group? I've never seen you in it. Wait a sec. You're the one who got tripped in the pool room a few days ago and fell into the pool? The troubled kid?" he asked timidly.

I would've have said something smart like, "Yeah that's me." or "I guess so" but no I decided to say, "Yeah. I think it happened on accident. All I did was mind my business."

"Um, yeah. Anyways you don't belong in this group. Go jogged in the loser group or even worse by yourself," he sneered.

I looked ahead and saw that we had half the gym to go before I could try the plan.

_No!_ I thought._Just let me stick for a little while so I can get a drink!_

"I'm not a loser. I'm just different that's all," I said trying to control my anger.

"Yeah, ok, sure," he grumbled.

Suddenly, another idea popped in my head.

"Hey, what do you like to do? Do you hate all these exams? How are you when you're on breaks? Do y-"

"Why are you asking all these random questions all of a sudden?" Cameron demanded. "You sound like you need something desperate. Just spit it out. I won't tell. Especially if you're trying to get something secretly."

I looked at him like he had just appeared out of thin air. I had barely known this guy for like five minutes and he's saying that he can keep a promise? Well I guess it doesn't matter. He's probably too stupid to know that it's something I'm trying to get, I thought. Here goes nothing.

"Ok well, I'm trying to blend in with you guys so I can get a drink of water. I know it sounds stupid but we've been running already eight laps, and I'm exhausted," I whispered.

"Oh, ok no problem," he said.

_Was that a smirk that appeared across his face? Or was that just a funny, playful smile that was playing across his lips?_ I thought. No time to think about that now because the water fountain was a corner away.

"Ok. Thanks Cameron," I murmured.

As we veered around the corner, I looked at Coach and was relieved to find that he wasn't paying attention and neither was anyone else. So I made a dash for it. Getting to the water fountain, I began to drink, feeling the coldness trickle down the back of my throat. I was so thirsty that I had forgotten that I was suppose to get a quick drink and get back in line. Just a little bit more, nagged a voice at the back of my brain. That's when things went wrong.

"Logan Moore!" roared a voice from behind me. "What did I tell you at the beginning of the year and at the beginning of class! Are you so dumb-witted that you forgot?"

I spun around and saw that everybody had frozen in the gym and was staring at me. I looked at Coach Nusley who was on the bleacher bench, face as red as a cherry, and twisted in anger. And next to him with a triumph look on his face was…Cameron Hall. I should've known. But I would deal with that later. First I had to deal with Coach Nusley.

"Did you hear me Logan Moore! I told you at the beginning of class! _You are not allowed to get a drink from the water fountain unless you think you're going to pass out, or until you have finished you warm-ups!_Are you that dim-witted!" He roared. His face was going from red to purple from lack of oxygen.

_Great, _I thought as anger burned a fresh hole in my stomach from being called a dim-wit. _Just great. Lets all watch Logan get chewed out by Coach and fail his exam._

"Sir, I-I felt like I was going to pass out," I said quietly.

"You felt like you were going to pass out!" roared Coach.

"Yes, and you said that we could get a drink of water if we thought we would pass out," I replied, starting to feel ticked off with this guy.

"No you weren't! Cameron just informed me what you told him!"

I stared at Cameron rooted on the spot. _Why did I even trust this guy? He told me that he wouldn't tell anyone let alone the Coach._

"Did you hear me,_boy_! Don't make me say it again or I will gi-," he roared across the gym, his voice echoing off the walls. I snapped in half like a toothpick.

"Yes! I heard you already! You said we're not allowed to get a drink from the water fountain unless we think we're going to pass out from exhaustion or until we've finished our warm-ups and that if you have to say it again, I'll get detention! I_ know!_" I practically screamed at him.

"Boy, if you yell at me like that again, I swear I'll give you detention for a whole month!" he roared.

"Well that's just too bad because I just did and I am right now, you old grandpa! And besides, you wouldn't want to babysit me for a whole month!" I sneered back.

"Don't you dare call me old grandpa again! If you do you'll get detention for a whole month, and I don't care about baby sitting you! It'll be fun to watch you squirm!" he screeched, his face wild.

"So either way I'm going to get detention! Good to know! I'll put you on my hated teachers list!" I yelled back at him.

"You know what! That's it! You've passed my limit and now you've got detention for a whole month starting Friday!" he thundered.

"Well I don't care!" I screamed. "You've hated me ever since the first day of your class and when you thought I was a wimp because I couldn't do any of your drills of sit-ups, pushups, pull-ups and all that other junk! And you teachers think that you guys know it all, and you won't give us a chance to improve and then we hate you and are determined to get back at you and bottle our feelings and then it explodes in the nice, kind way of shouting!" I yelled at him sarcastically.

I grabbed my backpack and stormed out of the gym, my ears hot, and everyone's eyes burning on my back. Well, the detention never came because something horrible happen Thursday afternoon and I was kind of glad and mad but I'll get to that later. Anyways, after struggling through Mr. Johnson's French exam (I don't know why I took the class in the first place). I decided to skip lunch because I just couldn't stand it with everyone in there after the incident in the gym and I was sick of people talking, whispering, and pointing at me behind me back in Mr. Johnson's class. As I was heading down towards my dorm room, an arm shot out of no where and pulled me inside an empty classroom.

"I guess you did skip lunch after all," said an irritated but familiar voice.

"I told you he would!" said a girl's voice that sent a cold chill down my spine.

I spun around to see my best friend Griffin and Christina standing there.

Christina Blake. Possibly my friend, possibly my enemy, and always my crush after she helped me on some Algebra. She was dangerous looking, but subtly, and rarely had I seen her get in a fight, and if I had, she always won. She had a deep tan, was athletic looking and lean. Not to mention, she was stealthy. She had long black hair with natural thin dark brown streaks in it. Her hair went halfway down her back, and always shined in the light. Supposedly it had six colors in it, including gold. She also had sea-green eyes, just like me. All the guys said she was one of the prettiest girls in the grade and maybe the school, despite the fact that she had given most of them_ lovely_ shiners.

"Wait. What are you talking about?" I asked. "How did you know I as going to skip lunch?"

"I just do," said Christina crossing her arms.

"Well if you think_you're_ so smart and think that you are good at guessing, lets see if you know why I skipped lunch?" I challenged.

"Hmmmm. Let me "guess". Oh I don't know. Maybe because you just couldn't stand it with all those kids in there after the incident in the gym and you were sick of the people talking, whispering, and pointing at you behind your back in Mr. Johnson's class," she answered, glaring at me.

"Wh-what in the world? How did you know? And why are you glaring at me. I didn't do anything wrong. Oh wait, that's your natural look every time you look at me," I taunted, rolling my eyes at her.

"_Shut up_!" she hissed. She continued to glare at me and I kind of figured that she would stay that way until her face froze like that forever.

"Um, yeah, anyways, aren't we suppose to be telling him something Christina?" asked Griffin obviously trying to stop us from fighting.

Christina looked at Griffin, and for one scary second, I thought she was going to sock him or something. However, I could've have sworn that her face softened a tiny bit.

"Fine, I guess so. But you start it," she sighed heavily, as if it was a big hassle to tell me anything or just even to look at me.

"Well, you told me that you've been struggling to understand the algebra chapter and I thought I could help so, I asked Christina and she said she would help as long as you didn't get absurd with her because I just found out about the incident in the gym," he said.

"Yeah well I don't need her help anymore. I think I understand the chapter better now," I replied. Really I did want Christina's help its just that I didn't want to be stuck with her. She looked at me as if I were some kid that was born yesterday but born to know everything already.

"Logan, you _do_need her. I saw you in Mrs. Clark's class. You weren't paying any attention to her and you looked like you were about to fall asleep," he answered.

"No I wa-," I started but it was Christina who interrupted with a comeback

"He's got a point you know."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm not mad with you Griffin. I mad with Christina because all she does is make fun of me and expects me to know what she does.

"You know what? I want you to do a favor for me," she replied sourly.

"What?"

"Just shut up."

"Make me."

"I will."

"I'd like to see you try, smart aleck."

"Call me a smart aleck, _one more_ time and see what happens," she answered with egging tone, intensity hidden behind them.

"Smart aleck," I said testing her.

As fast viper, she punched me in the gut really hard. And I mean really hard. I'm nottalking about when a girl playfully punches you in the arm or stuff like that. No, I'm talking a powerful blow to the stomach that made me stumble backwards into the wall which was only five feet away.

"Holy sh-," Griffin yelped

"Ouch," I mumbled, cutting his profanity off.

"Want to test me again, Logan?" she questioned threateningly.

"No," I whimpered, clutching my gut. I was pretty amazed that she had a powerful punch like that for a girl and I began to wonder where she had learned it. Yeah, I've gotten punched before by bullies but her powerful blow was enough for bullies that bullied me, run for their older siblings (if they had some that were bigger and buffer). Now I know why she always won.

Christina looked at her silver watch and said we've got three minutes. "We better get going and head up to the lockers before the teacher who owns this classroom comes back." Griffin and I followed her out the door with Griffin wide-eyed with shock and me still, of course, clutching my gut.

"I can't believe she did that. I just can't believe it," murmured Griffin as we climbed the staircase.

I didn't want to ask him what he meant because I was still in a _slight_ bit of pain, and if I asked Griffin what he meant, he would probably look at me and say, "What are you talking about?"

As Griffin, Christina and I climbed the stairs heading for Language Arts, I made sure I kept clear of Christina. After punching me in the gut, I was sure that if I spoke to her again, she was going to punch me in the entered the room and sat down on the beanbags. This was the only class out of all my other classes that had the huge beanbags for chairs instead of regular chairs. Also this was the class I would relax in because our teacher, Ms. Whitney didn't care if we talked as long as we talked quietly and we got our work done.

She handed out a vocabulary worksheet over the words we had been studying for almost a week. She told us to finish the worksheet and then when everybody was done, she'd give us five minutes to study before she'd hand out the test. I sat there, staring at the vocabulary worksheet, trying to read. I made out a few words and sentences and tried answering the questions or fill in the blanks. But not before long, my dyslexia started acting up and the letters started floating off the page and spinning around.

_Now how am I suppose to even try filling in the blanks if none of the words are on the page_, I thought to myself angrily. I pushed the paper away and looked over to see Christina face turning from concentration, to confusing to frustration. She turned her paper over and put down her pencil sighing.

"Do the words on the page float off?" I asked her.

"Why? Do they float off the page when you try to read them?" she answered.

"Yeah. It's my dyslexia," I replied. Christina looked me in the eyes as if she were studying me.

"Being dyslexic sucks," she told me as if she were dyslexic too.

"I know. I can't believe I have dyslexia, ADD, and ADHD all at once. What else could be worse? I'm probably the only one who has all these mental problems," I said miserably. She was still studying me but way more carefully as if she had figured something out and was putting more pieces together. But what Christina said next surprised me even more.

"Your not the only on who has dyslexia and ADHD," she said.

"Really?" I questioned.

"Just to let you know because I bet you didn't even know this, but, I have dyslexia and ADHD too," she said.

"What? No way," I said, surprised.

"Yes way."

"What about ADD?"

"No.

"So letters do float off the page then when you try to read, don't they?" I reasoned.

"Yeah."

"So, what else is new?" I said.

For the rest of time before the vocabulary test, we talked. When Ms. Whitney gave us the test, Christina said, "Watch us bomb the test. I'll probably get a B+."

"Yeah, and I'll probably get a C or a big fat F," I answered. Christina chuckled and we started the test. When I had finished, Christina and I talked some more only this time with Griffin.

"I can't wait for tomorrows field trip," Christina said. "Finally, a break from this idiotic, wretched school."

"I agree," I answered.

"And I'll be off to camp which will be relieving where I can fight and train," she muttered to Griffin who nodded. I looked at her confused for a second, wondering by what she meant. We reached our lockers and Griffin said goodbye and me and Christina went to our last class of the day.

"How was school Logan?" my mom asked me. I had just gotten home and I could smell part of dinner slowly cooking on the stove.

"Good," I replied.

"Anything new with Christina?" my mom said. My mom was always asking me that question because I was coming with something new about Christina almost every other day.

"Yep. Did you know she's ADHD and dyslexia?" I answered. My mom hesitated for a second.

"She is?"

"Yeah. She told me in the middle of Language Arts. I just can't believe that we both have ADHD and dyslexia." my mother looked and there was sadness in her eyes which always shown when we talked about my mental problems. I don't know why she got all sad. But I guess its because she probably didn't think of ever having a mental kid; one that was born with dyslexia and diagnosed with ADHD and ADD.

"What are we having for dinner?" I asked. Her eyes brightened and said, "Your favorite."

My heart skipped a beat. "You made _that_? Really?" I said.

"Yep. I made tacos!" she replied.

"Finally!" I yelled. My mom smiled and told me to go sit down and watch TV while she finished making dinner. Once she was finished, she brought over the tacos and we sat down watching a funny show called '30 Rock'. When we had finished, I got showered, and got my bag ready for tomorrows field trip. Once I had crawled into bed and shut off the lights, I thought about the detention I was going to have Friday. I thought about it for awhile and then thinking to myself,_ you better get some sleep because tomorrows a big day_, I pushed the thought aside and went to sleep.


	2. Water Park Tsunami

**Logan:**

The next morning, there was a lot of excitement in the classrooms. Once the teachers had made sure they had everything and the kids had everything, we walked out of school and waited. While we waited for the bus since it was running really late, the teachers decided to take us down to the gym for a game of dodge ball. When we got there, Mackenzie Samson was already deciding to be team captain.

Now let me give you some heads-up advice about Mackenzie so you know what's coming.

She is the worst bully in the school. She hates my guts and my wake up call at school is her trying to sock me in the face. Mackenzie has a drawn in face, like a ferret with rough, shoulder length, rust-colored hair. She's also quite beefy but surprisingly, she can chase you down if you don't move fast enough.

Anyways, the once she decided to be team captain and I was also, automatically, all the girls and boys she hung around with moved to her side. No surprise, they were the ones that hated me also.

"Not a surprise," I muttered to myself.

I took a look at the people who had been pegged as losers, freaks or retards. There was Aki Bushel, the math whiz with braces that had the full head gear. There was Sharnell Lainer, the nerdy science girl who had huge glasses and always had huge explanations for a simple yes or no question. If I were to go through the list of losers, freaks, retards, nerds etc., it would just get worse. Trust me, you do not want to know.

On the other hand, there was one good thing. There was only two people left who hadn't decided whose side to be on. A boy named Abbot Allen and Christina Blake. Abbot Allen was kind of popular and sometimes hung around Mackenzie but I was surprised to see that he hadn't moved to her side. Mackenzie decided we should choose. If Abbot got chosen by Mackenzie, then we were doomed because he was a great thrower. I didn't know about Christina because I've never seen her play.

But we had a two way going. See, Mackenzie hated Christina after Christina got in her face so Mackenzie would definitely hate having Christina on the team. So that would make her choose Abbot. She also had told all her girlfriends that she'd seen how Christina plays sports. She spread rumors and said she sucked. And guess what? I believed them for some reason. Anyways, Mackenzie took the safer choice and took Abbot, unbalancing the teams. Mackenzie had two extra people but with Christina, they would still have one extra good player on their team. So I just sucked it up and took Christina. We grabbed the balls, laid them in the middle of the gym and had everyone back up to the walls, having one hand on them.

"On your mark, get set…"

Coach Nusley blew his whistle hard, signaling go.

Everyone rushed towards the line but Christina beat them to the dodge balls by a long shot while we were only halfway there. She grabbed three, tossed one to me, one to Malcolm Caliph and then started striking the other team down. As dodge balls soared to the other team, I recognized something. Something that might help us win.

It was Christina.

She was dodging balls and catching balls with one hand as she ran back and forth with amazing skill. I stopped to watch which was my mistake. Mackenzie threw a ball and it slammed into me. I didn't think girls could throw so hard. She laughed at me and began chucking dodge balls at Christina who dodge every single one. Mackenzie got mad, got three more people, and gave two balls to each of them and two to herself.

"Read, aim, FIRE!" she screeched. Eight balls hurtled at Christina who leaped, dodged and battered away the balls with her own with just unbelievable grace. As Christina dodged the sixth ball, she threw her ball that she had been wisely holding onto. It flew through the air like a fast ball, whistling past everyone and hit Mackenzie square in the chest with such force, Mackenzie got all the breath knocked out of her. It was incredible and so amusing to see her coughing with tears dragging down her face in pain, I was trying to stifle a laugh. I knew everyone else was but it was completely impossible. We busted up laughing which deserved us a glare that said, "I will kill you all later. Don't think it won't happen."

Christina grabbed other dodge balls and threw two, both hitting people who were now out. See, Coach Nusley's game of dodge ball is different. He has several different kinds. One of them is free-for-all and you just hit random people, no teams (which I always lose at because they all go after me). Then you have three-hits-and-your-out dodge ball which is the one we are playing.

Christina kept hitting people and I followed her lead. Already most of our team was out. There was a few standing on our side and half of Mackenzie's team. One ball sent by Abbot hurtled at Christina but she caught it meaning he was out. Even if you haven't been hit three times and the person catches the ball, you're still out. Abbot looked at Christina in surprise. He never, ever, ever, got out. Abbot went and sat in the bleachers with the other kids who had been taken out.

"HA-HA! Beat that!" yelled someone off the my right who was not Christina. Christina hated gloating in simple things like this.

The way it was working now was, if Christina chucked a ball and got someone out, the other team would try to take revenge by throwing three or four balls at her. But she would dodge and catch some. Finally, there was only four kids left on Mackenzie's team and just me and Christina on ours. Two of them sent balls. The first one Christina dodged and it hit the wall bouncing off. The second one came fast and as quick as lightning, she turned, swinging her fist and slammed the ball back, sending it right back to its owner. It was an awesome, amazing, something I-can't-describe move. It hit him and he was out since it was his third hit.

"Coach! That should be an out!" the kid protested.

"I didn't say anything about deflecting balls in the game isn't allowed," replied Coach. "So shut up and sit down."

"Awesome," Christina muttered, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth.

The kid stomped his foot. There was three kids left. One chucked at Christina and another one chucked at me. We both caught the balls and they went out.

The last kid standing was Mark Carter. He was second best at throwing and catching however, stupid when it came to catching. If a few balls came at him, he would try to catch them all. I knew if I threw my ball, he might catch it. But hey, it was worth a shot. I threw with all my might, hoping by some sheer luck, it would hit him out, but he caught it.

"No doubt about that," I murmured as I passed Christina.

"Nice throw though. But I've got your back. That bastard is going down."

I smiled, feeling proud.

Christina threw several and he tried to catch them all. No luck. He tried several dodge balls on her. He missed. After a while of Christina dodging and throwing and Mark trying to catch every ball, Christina used a great move. She chucked several at to one side of him and of course, he lunged for them. At the same time, Christina got close to the boundary line, grabbed a ball and threw with all her might. It sailed through the air and struck him in the side. He fell down just as he threw his own high in the air. Christina made a desperate lunge and miraculously five feet in the air, caught the ball! Everybody cheered on our side and Coach Nusley blew the whistle.

"Yeah Christina! There's that jump we haven't seen in a while!" Griffin cheered. He winked at her and Christina chuckled, smiling; a rare smile that barely every happened. As the kids on our team high-fived Christina and some of the others on Mackenzie's team who weren't poor sports, one of the teachers who had been checking regularly for the bus, came in and announced that the bus was here. Everyone started talking like we usually do.

"Ok everyone! Settle down, settle down! When I call role, I want you to say 'here' or 'present'," said Ms. Sabrina our math teacher as she pulled out a roll sheet.

Ms. Sabrina was a pretty Asian woman with long, black flowing hair that was always in a tight bun or ponytail and who made her room always smell of a light scent of cinnamon apple. She was nice but stern and had pegged me for being a troublemaker. But she didn't neglect me, or purposely call out on me for the simplest things that made a commotion in class. She treated me like I was just a regular student who got in trouble occasionally. And you can probably guess what that makes Christina. One of her 'favorite' students.

Anyways, she called out the names and we all said 'here' or 'present'. Mr. Johnson, who was the other teacher on the field trip, told everyone to make sure they had everything. Then Ms. Sabrina shuffled everyone out the gym door, down the sidewalk and out onto the bus.

"Mr. Johnson, what is the point of this field trip?" I asked.

"Nothing. This is an end of the year field trip to celebrate everyone making it through the year. And," he glanced at Christina. "to test something important." I was about to ask what that important thing was but just then, Griffin had just walked up and interrupted with a worried look on his face

"Logan, did you bring any money since we're buying food at the water park? I forgot mine."

"Um, yeah. I think I grabbed a ten dollar bill." I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet.

"I have enough money for you and me," I told him. His face relaxed.

"Thank the gods because I didn't eat breakfast and I'm hungry and also, you usually have money. But when it comes to field trips or other big things, you tend to forget."

Wait.

What did he just say? Did he just say, 'Thank the gods'? Why would he say that? There's only one god…well unless he a different religion. But wait…he said he was Christian? And what did Christina mean about going back to camp and fighting and training? I shook my head, figuring I would have time to think about it later and pushed that thought away for a bit.

"Thanks. Glad you reminded me," I said laughing. We boarded the bus and once we made sure again that we had everyone on the bus, we started off.

It was a terrible thirty minute ride. Mackenzie was being a little bone-head and Mark was throwing things at Griffin who kept muttering things to himself. I got up several times so I could go after Mark and teach him a lesson but Christina finally had enough of it and when I stood up after the final straw, she grabbed me and hauled me back into the seat without a struggle. And so, I had to wait, fuming in the middle of the bus as Griffin got hit some more.

Once everyone jumped off the bus, we followed 'You-Are-Here' signs and after a while, we began to see the slides and other water stuff in distance. As soon as we had reached the water area, everyone went berserk. Everyone changed into their bathing suits and jumped right on in.

At one side of the park was one of those river things float down in. It was called Raft River. You sit in one of those inner tubes or one of the inner tubes that have two connected. Then you float around down the river as water jets spray you every 20 feet. In the middle of the water park, there was this tower that had three slides. The top one was like a big blue tunnel that twisted around and around like crazy and went all over the place. The second one was a yellow one that was opened, and the third one was a green one that was opened also but simple. It went around twice and then straight into a huge pool which was only two feet deep so not at all dangerous (well, unless your two and half feet tall and you slip). It also had at the other end of the pool, something that looked like a tiled beach. On the front of the tower, it has a huge waterfall that you can stand under and go behind the water.

Then next to the tower with the three slides was a bigger tower called Orange Rush. On the top, there were some rafts that look like inner tubes but they have a bottom that was made of that bouncy stuff that's on a trampoline. You put it at the top of the slide you sit down with how many other people you want (we found out that the limit for sitting in one was four people) and then the managers push the inner tube down the slide and down you go! Then you end up at this medium size rectangular pool. The managers at the end grabbed your inner tube once your out, stick in this machine, that takes it up with several other ones. Then you climb the stairs and start over again. On the same tower that has the Orange Rush slide, there is a slide called Splash Out and it is 240 feet in length. Then below that level is two slides called Twin Chasers which is 130 feet in length. The Twin Chasers are two side-by-side slides that lead out into the pool that has the tiled beach and three slides.

"Whoa," we all said.

Somewhere off to the side of the pool where the three slides lead to, there was a crazy looking tower that had a clock on all four sides and water guns. Once the clock strikes 12, the bottom of the roof opens up and dumps water on all the people who are under it or are close to it. Its called Joker Soaker. To the left of the pool-with-the-three-slides, there is a bridge that leads over to the smaller baby pool. The other end of the bridge sits on a small concrete island with a river that goes underneath. Of course no one else wanted to go to the baby pool. But the water park was huge! I was thinking about starting with the inner tube that goes down the slide with someone but I figured no one would go with me because I had no friends except Griffin and Christina kind of.

"This is a huge water park," said Griffin who was in a full wet suit for some reason and had water shoes on unlike all the other boys who were wearing just trunks and were barefoot.

"What the heck are you wearing?"

Griffin looked uneasy.

"Just have to for, um, protection?"

"What?"

"Where do you want to start?" he replied quickly, switching subjects faster than I ever heard him before.

"I don't know."

"Want to start with the big raft slide?" said a girl's voice behind me. I turned around to see Christina walking up.

She looked amazing. She was in a sea-green bikini outlined in ocean blue and one of those that were only tied. Not to mention, she was well-tanned. Not Snooki from Jersey Shore tan (no I do not watch Jersey Shore, I just hear about how tan Snooki is) but a nice tan. My face turned red but thank goodness it was hot out so she thought I might be getting hot.

"Sure thing," I replied.

We walked up the stairs until we had reached the top. Surprisingly their wasn't a line. We sat down in one of the inner tubes, waiting patiently. They were checking to see if anyone was at the end of the slide. Once the all clear was given, the managers pushed us down. We went down, twisting and turning and going up against the sides of the slide. When we reached the bottom, I tried to stand up in the inner tube, laughing.

Then I yelled, "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! That was so much fun, we-," I got cut off because I had fallen into the water since the inner tube was not that stable. I guess it was meant for lying and sitting down in on the slide and not standing in on water. I came up still talking, "-and do that again!" Christina and Griffin laughed and but it was Griffin's turn. He was sitting too close to the edge so when he leaned back, he fell out too. Christina started laughing harder.

We climbed the stairs again, still laughing. But when we got to the top, there was a short line. So we decided to go and do the three slides. We went and did that, and Christina challenged us to a race. She would get the top slide, I would get the second slide and Griffin would get the third. We positioned ourselves after telling the managers at the top we were doing a race. Christina's slide manager gave the signal over the radio to the my manager and Griffin's. We pushed ourselves and down we went. Christina got there first but she let herself hide under water until Griffin and I came out. She jumped up and scared the skin right off of us.

"Ahhhh!" Griffin and I screamed. She laughed and dunked our heads in the water. Then she went under. When we came back up, she said, "Hey watch this." She went under and started swimming until she had crossed the pool and up onto the tiled beach. I counted how long she was under. She had been under for two minutes. But I noticed she wasn't even wet. Really weird.

"What in the world? How did she do that? I don't think anybody can be under water for two minutes and swim that fast underwater."

"Maybe she took a deep breath and made it." But that didn't sound convincing. It sounded like he was convincing himself.

Afterwards, we kept going down the slides and getting soaked under the waterfall and under the Joker Soaker. When lunch rolled around, we all went to the Beachfront Grill, paid and sat down and ate. It was a delicious lunch. Afterwards, everyone got back into the pool. I was having a blast, trying to have fun before it was time to go, when Mackenzie came up to me in front of the waterfall. She had gotten tired of picking on other people and being mean. I guess I was the only one that amused her when she was bullying me because she always knew I would get in trouble.

"To afraid to go down the water slides?" she sneered.

"Pfft. I've been going down the water slide all day. But of course you wouldn't notice or remember. Your brain and eyes slow-process just about everything and you have short-term memory loss," I retorted. She got in my face, her breath smelling like hotdog with ketchup and mayonnaise.

"Short-term memory loss and slow-processing mind and eyes, huh? Well look whose talking. You're ADHD, ADD and dyslexic. So I wouldn't talk," she hissed.

"So you do admit that you have short-term memory loss and your mind and eyes slow-process everything?" I answered.

"I didn't say that."

"Basically you just did." Her face turned red and she shoved me into the waterfall. I came out of it sputtering and angry. Just about Christina and a lot of people had gathered around when the picking-on-Logan started but Mr. Johnson and Ms. Sabrina weren't noticing a thing. Christina narrowed her eyes and watched me. I had a feeling she was seeing what I was going to do. Then I remembered what Mr. Johnson had said about testing something which wasn't really an anger management solution.

I was so angry that my mind went completely blank and the next thing I knew, Mackenzie and all her friends screamed. A large wave rose in front of me, rolling forward and slamming down upon Mackenzie and her friends so heavily that they sat down hard in the water with a SPLASH! Mr. Johnson and Ms. Sabrina looked up startled while people all around me were whispering and pointing at me.

"Whoa. Dude what just happened?"

"Did you see that?"

"Yeah."

"The water like turned into a tsunami and like, smashed onto Mackenzie."

"Weirdo!"

I looked at Christina for help but she too was looking at me as if I had just appeared in front of her out of thin air.

"What?" I demanded.

She stared at me some more and didn't say anything but she did glance at Mr. Johnson mouthing something. He mouthed something back. I turned to Mr. Johnson who was sitting in his automatic wheel chair, now staring at me.

Help me! Make them think that it was just some freak wave that came up and hit her. Make them think that I don't know what they're talking about. Make them take their mind off of it! Anything Mr. Johnson! I pleaded with my eyes. He nodded slowly as if he understood.

"Uh-hem," he coughed as he faked cleared his throat. "Ah, I think that the water park manager said earlier before we came that they had a water problem that happened every once in a while. They said that waves tend to happen and people standing near them get hit by it in the pool."

Everybody turned their attention to Mr. Johnson.

"Can you repeat that again, sir?" Mackenzie asked as politely as she could, smirking at me quickly so that Mr. Johnson wouldn't notice. She waited for a reaction and I gave it to her by rolling my eyes.

"Idiot," I growled.

Mr. Johnson repeated what he said.

"So Mackenzie, you were just simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

While Mackenzie tried to make up some lame lie, a voice from someone I had forgotten about came from behind me.

"Where did you learn to do that?" a person hissed.

I spun around to see Christina glaring at me.

"What are you talking about? You're th-"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Logan."

"No I don't. You don't know what you're talking about. I do. You're th-"

"I don't know what I'm talking about? I do know what I'm talking about but you don't obviously," she said.

"Oh now that's just great. You're saying that I don't know what I'm talking about. I really don't know what the heck you're talking about? You're th-"

"Don't lie. You do know because you're blushing right out of your cheeks!" she hissed.

"I do not blush that bad! I seriously don't know what your talking about! You're th-,"

"Yes! You do know what I'm talking about. If you're so stupid, then why should I bother asking? I'm talking about the wave and you. When you like made it hit her in the face!"

"Yeah then. Why even bother asking?" I retorted. "I don't even know what happened with the wave and everything. It just happened. But you shouldn't be talking! You're th-"

"So you do know what I'm talking about!" she growled. Now at this point, she was starting to tick me off because this was like the fourth, no wait, fifth time she had interrupted me. "You are such a bad liar! How did y-"

"Will you just shut up and let me finish? This is fifth time you've interrupted me from saying something important!" I snapped.

"Ok fine then! Spit it out!" she snarled. Now whoa. Wait a sec. The snarl sounded so close to a real snarl from a tiger or something. That was just scary.

"Ok! You're the one who swam the whole length of the pool under water in two minutes to the tiled beach!" I said heavily.

Christina paled in the face.

"Yeah, and? You've got a point because…?" she sniffed.

"No one can swim this huge pool within two minutes!" I said. "How did you do it?"

"I bet anyone can do it," she retorted.

Her voice didn't sound very convincing.

"I bet not. How did you do it?" I repeated, pressing on.

"Why are you so concerned," she sneered.

"Because you're picking on me about the wave."

"Because everyone noticed it!" she snapped. "They didn't notice me!"

"Yeah because you were underwater and no one was around to watch! You're obviously hiding something. Before we were going to leave, Mr. Johnson said to 'test something' and he looked at me and then at you. Then, whenever something strange happens to me, later all I see is you going down the hallway to Mr. Johnson's class with Griffin. Why won't you tell anyone except for Griffin and Mr. Johnson. Why won't you tell me anything! Why won't Griffin tell me anything either! I'm his best friend!" I demanded (did I mention this beforehand?).

"I have my reasons and so does Griffin. So stay out of this until its time," she answered.

"What reasons? Until its time for what?" I questioned.

Christina looked at me as if deciding how to get me in trouble until we heard a growl. Her eyes widened slightly, just enough so a thin rim of white showed around her sea-green eyes.

"What did you do?" Christina muttered, half to herself, regarding me some more.

"What do you mean?"

We heard another growl and I looked around. Mackenzie was glaring at me and I looked at Ms. Sabrina. She was also but something was up with her. She seemed to be scratching her throat, snarling and looking in my direction.

"Christina, what did you mean by, 'what did i do' and 'until it's time'?" I asked, slowly tearing my eyes away from Ms. Sabrina.

"Oh look, its time to leave," she answered instead, glaring at me now for some reason. The way her tone sounded told me to drop the subject or else something bad was going to happen. I followed her to the water park lockers buzzing with questions. How was I ever going to manage for the rest of the day?

And what had I done?


	3. Excuse me, I'm a What!

**Logan:**

"Hey mom!"

"Hey Logan! I'm in the kitchen!" she answered.

She was cooking like always.

As I walked towards the kitchen, the smell of chocolate chip cookies wafted through the living room, lifting me off my feet. Just smelling them was making my mouth water because I hadn't eaten any lunch thanks to Christina.

"How was the field trip? Did everything go ok? How were the exams yesterday?" she asked, throwing the questions at me one after another. I told her one question at a time and she smiled, saying she meant to ask me about the exams yesterday but forgot because she didn't want to ruin the mood yesterday.

"I had a ruff day today because it was all of Christina's fault and some jerk kid but I'll explain later. The exams went ok I guess but I think I failed the PE exam," I replied. "And the field trip was good."

"Why? What happened yesterday?" she inquired, putting the cookie sheets in the sink.

"Well I was thirsty and do you remember how I told you at the beginning of the year what Coach Nusley said?"

"No, not really. Why, what did he say?" my mom asked.

"Well, at the beginning of the year…," and I broke into an explanation about what happened and how I thought it wasn't fair. Then I told her all about my field trip. But I left out the part with the wave because it seemed way to weird to tell her. I was afraid she would start freaking out. To fill in the wave part, I said I had gotten in trouble for scaring Mackenzie so bad that she slipped and fell in the water.

"Well, at least you didn't fail all your exams and that you had an okay day today. Now tell me what happened between you and Christina from yesterday."

I had told my mom about Christina the first time she had helped me out and how I had a crush on her. My mom then began wanting me to tell her what was happening at school between me and Christina. So I told my mom how Christina got mad with me for saying that she glares whenever she looks at me and how Christina knew that I didn't eat lunch cause I just couldn't stand it with all the kids in the cafeteria talking behind my back about the incident. And of course, I left out the part when Christina had punched me because I thought that it wasn't really that important.

"I see. Well in that case, your report card came in-"

_Uh oh, _I thought.

"-and you did a little bit better but I'm still really proud of you," she said happily.

I would've said something smart like, "Oh, ok how bad are they?"

"What were my grades," I asked instead, feeling my spirits rise for some reason.

"Well here I'll show you," she answered.

She handed me the yellow envelop and with trembling fingers, I opened the report card.

"Oh my gosh…m-my grades! Th-they're…oh my," I stuttered I was completely speechless.

In English I had a C-, in Math, I had a C+, in all of my other subjects I had either a low C+ or a low C-, all except for Mr. Johnson's class. When I saw my grade, I nearly screamed like a girl. My grade was a B-. Like I said early, I never got a grade above a C- but here I was, staring wide-eyed at my report card with a B- on it.

"Oh my gosh! I thought I was failing in his class," I said, now remembering that the last I had checked with him about my grades, he said it had been a C- and now I was confused on how I'd gotten a B-.

"He told you that you _were_going to fail but, you took his exam today and you got a high B+ bumping your C- up to a B-," she replied.

"That's…that's amazing," I answered feeling proud about myself. I was about to ask my mom if we could celebrate when there was a quick knock at the door.

My mom looked at me and I shrugged carelessly. She probably was asking me with her eyes, _'Who could that possibly be?'_

My mom opened the door and I was about to see who it was when I was tackled by big hug.

"Thank the gods! You're alive Logan!" exclaimed Griffin.

There it was again. The word 'gods'.

"Whoa! What are you doing here? And what do you mean I'm alive? Why do you think I should have died?" I questioned confusingly.

"No! I'm not saying that you should have died! We j-just came t-to pick you up," stuttered Griffin nervously.

"Came to pick me up? What are you talking about? Where are we going?" I asked.

"I better let her explain," said Griffin, stepping aside.

It was the last person I wanted to see.

"Oh, its you," I replied glumly.

"Yeah, its me and hi to you too," Christina retorted.

"What do you want? What is this thing you are going to clarify to me?" I snorted.

"Why should I tell you if you're going to be like this? I should let you die instead of trying to save you but Chiron gave direct orders so I better follow them," she huffed.

"You should let me die? And who is Chiron?" I demanded.

"I'll explain later if you survive because we don't have time. This is a important matter. The be specific, a matter between life and death," she answered sternly.

I just stared at her.

"What?" I questioned, still not knowing what she was talking about.

"Matter between life or death," she said impatiently.

I just stared some more.

"Let me make this easier for your slow-processing small brain. It means: Either you die and go to Hades or you live."

Hades? What the hell was she talking about?

I just stared instead.

"Can you repeat that again. I didn't here that last part," I teased.

She rolled her eyes.

"Can you just tell him Christina so we can get it over with and get him there fast?" asked Griffin.

"Get me where?" I said.

"Listen Logan. You know how Mr. Johnson was talking about Ancient Greece and the Greek gods for those three months?"

"Yes. What does that have to do with anything?" I replied. As the usual, she ignored me.

"Now do you remember how he said that the Greek gods came down, fell in love with mortals, and well, had kids? Do you remember what they called their children?" she sighed.

"Shouldn't you know this already?" I asked her. "Or are you just wasting my time playing stupid to make up for argument?"

"Just answer the question!" she hissed.

"Ok! Jeez! When the Greek gods came down, fell in love with mortals and then had kids, they called them I think half-god and half-human, right?" I said impatiently. "But wh-,"

"Yes. But what's the correct term," she questioned timidly.

"Ummm…half-god child? No wait, half-blood. Yeah half-blood."

"Correct. However, the term that _is_ commonly used is demigod," she corrected.

"Yeah. And th-,"

"Will you just keep your trap shut for once so I can finish!" she exclaimed.

"Ok! Fine!" I answered.

She looked at me and just glared.

"Anyways, do you also remember how myths say that demigods and the Greek gods died thousands of years ago?"

"Yeah."

"Well they're actually alive and you're a demigod," she replied hurriedly.

"Oh cool. That's amazing," I said, nodding carelessly.

Christina crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow and let it hit me.

There was a pause for a minute.

"_Excuse me_?I'm a what?" I finally exclaimed. " But that's impossible! The Greek gods are dead and you just said so yourself!"

"I said that myths say so.""So? They're dead anyways," I answered."No they're not Logan."

"Yes they are."

"No they're not!"

"Ok! If you insist they're alive that's fine! But I'm not a demigod!" I shouted.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are Logan."

"No I'm not, Christina."

"Yes you are, Logan!

"No I'm-,"

"So just deal with it!" she finished, glaring at me in a threatening way.

"Ok. If you say so. The Greek gods are real, so are demigods, and I'm one," I said quietly and nervously.

"You've better believe or one of the gods will blast you to a million pieces," chuckled Christina.

"Great. That's the last thing I needed to head," I grumbled.

My mom gave Christina a look.

"Sorry but it's tempting Mrs. Moore," Christina murmured. My mom chuckled. Something was up because my mom was acting like she knew this and was waiting for this moment to come.

Griffin who had been standing there as rigid as a wooden board, finally spoke.

"Er, Ms. Moore, we need to take Logan now to, well, um, you know where before it's too late."

"Oh yeah, I guess," she said mournfully.

"Where are they taking me? Aren't you coming?" I asked, now fearing.

"No, Logan. I can't. It's too complicated to explain especially since I'm not like you," she answered.

"Logan, we'll explain later," Christina said.

"Why can't my mom explain it to me now?" I asked, no feeling frustrated.

"Logan that doesn't matter right now," my mom managed to answer. I looked at my mom and she looked like she was about to cry if I asked her anymore questions.

"What matters is getting you to safety," she answered. She looked at Christina and said, "Do you have money?"

"Yes."

"Your shield?"

"Yes."

"Do you have your key?"

"Check." "And will you send me and Iris-message," my mom finished.

"Yes. Jeez Ms. Moore. You sound like as if you were my mother," answered Christina smiling a little.

Next to me Griffin stiffened. _Why was he tensing up at that comment,_ I thought. When I looked at Griffin, he looked anxious now. Then I focused on my mom and Christina at what else they were saying. My mom smile and said, "Christina, you know you're always welcomed to stay between breaks since your parents are busy."

"Thanks Ms. Moore. Well we better get going Logan and don't ask any questions until we get into the car," she said hastily.

"Fine." I looked at my mom. "Will this be the last time I see you?"

"No honey. You may see me after summer break," she answered gently.

"Ok." I hugged my mom goodbye and followed Griffin and Christina who were already heading out the door; leaving me confused and wondering if I was in some sort of trouble that was tearing me away from my mom.


	4. The Truth Nearly Kills Me

**Logan:**

"That will be thirty, ma'am ."

Christina paid the driver.

She had forced us into a cab with Griffin protesting in some language that sounded _suspiciously_ like Ancient Greek.

"Christina! You're going to get us all killed!" he had protested before being shoved into the cab.

"No I won't Griffin and you know that because of my mom," she had answered. "Also I'm skilled."

"Ooook," I cut in. "So whose your parent Christina anyways?"

She ignored me, maybe lost in thought or just overlooking me on purpose.

"Christina?"

Silence.

"Christina? Do you hear me?"

More silence.

"Christina?" I replied starting to get ticked off.

More dead silence.

"CHRISTINA!" I went to go shake her, but before I could touch her, her hand shot out of no where and grabbed my wrist, tightening her grip so hard that it went numb in seconds.

"What?" she growled, her grip tightening even more. However, what was even worse was her nails that were beginning to dig into my skin.

"Ow…ow ow ow!" I protested, squirming around as I tried to wiggle my hand out of her grasp, making the pain worse.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"OUCH! To know, ow, who your parent, ow, is?" I said wincing at the pain (yeah, I know, I sound like a little baby. But if you knew how tight her grip and in addition, her nails, then yes, you would be wincing like me).

"Its…none…of…your…business," she answered trying to keep her voice under control. She loosened her grasp, and gazed out the window, muttering something like, "They always have to ask…monsters attack…battle skill…why don't they ever care?" She paused for a second, and continued doing the exact same thing. This time she murmured, "Tour at camp…battle training…archery…no before that…Tree-jumping class even though I made that up…hmmm…oh yeah…teaching a class I think."

Christina kept up her murmuring to herself until we had reached the Williamsburg Bridge.

"Here," she told the taxi driver.

"Are you sure? I thought you wanted to go to Long Island Sound? If you want to be dropped off here, I can give your change back since it would only be half the price of the Long Island Sound price?" the taxi driver asked surprised.

"Yes I'm sure. We just decided that we wanted to walk now. And you can keep the change," replied Christina. She hurried us out of the cab, shutting the door quickly behind her before the taxi driver could ask anymore questions. She watched as the taxi peeled away from the curb in a cloud of exhaustion.

"Lets go Christina. We shouldn't just stand here because we need to get a move on and besides, you promised that you would explain everything to Logan.

Christina looked back and nodded.

"I guess so," was her only reply. As we walked across the bridge, Christina began to explain.

"Being a demigod is _dangerous_, Logan. In which it can get you killed. Once you know you're one, your aura or scent, becomes more powerful and vicious monster will attack you," she started. "Especially if you're what I am, but I'll assure you that you're not."

"Like the Boogie-man and second-grade monsters? Or the hydra-minotaur kind of monsters."

"Names are powerful Logan. But, yes, the hydra-minotaur type of monsters," she answered.

I shivered even though I wasn't cold. I imagined myself, bold and strong, standing up to a hoard of monsters. Suddenly, another image, only scary this time, flashed through my mind. There I was, lying on the ground, bleeding my life out as monsters surrounded me, licking their lips because they were hungry for a tasty demigod.

I pushed that image away from my mind and focused on what else Christina was saying.

"Now listen, there is a camp called Camp-Half Blood that is protected by magical borders. Mortals can't see because of the Mist which blocks them from seeing what we see."

"The Mist?" I inquired.

"A boundary that kind of separates what we see and what the mortals perceive. Like if a hellhound were to attack us, mortals would see just a really large, slobbering, nasty dog attacking us. Now on rare occasions, some mortals are born to see through the Mist. And I think your mom can Logan. But that's beside the point. The Mist is just a boundary, separating what we see and what mortals are going to see."

"Oh right. Now the rest of this?" I said.

"Yeah. Camp Half-Blood is the only safest haven between heaven and earth for a demigod. At Camp Half-Blood, you learn to battle, do archery, survive in the real world and much more. Sometimes, demigods undertake quests even thought that hasn't happened in a long time. But lets not go into that. Like I was saying, when you go out into the real world, that proves whether you're any good or not. If your parent is not that powerful like Aphrodite, Demeter et cetera, then neither is your aura. So monsters will most likely leave you alone. However, if you're the daughter of Athena, Ares, Poseidon, Zeus et cetera too, then your aura is more attractive to monsters," she explained.

"So what do those campers do them?" I asked confusingly.

"Oh, they're year-rounders. Sometimes they only come for breaks because they can manage in the real world. But we mostly have year-rounders," she answered.

"Now that makes sense," I replied. "What are you Christina?"

"Me? Well I _have_ to be a year-rounder. Even though I keep telling Chiron that I can manage in the real world, he insists that I have to be a year-rounder because of my parents," she confirmed.

"Then why aren't you at camp if you're a year-rounder?" I asked confused again.

Christina's face darkened which kind of freak me out. I mean, yeah, I've seen people get mad before including her, but when she does it, she makes it look twice as bad and scary.

"That-doesn't-matter. Its none of your business," she said trying to control her anger and tone of voice.

I nodded and decided to leave her alone before she would cause anymore painful-nail clawing agony. I turned toward Griffin who hadn't talked in awhile.

"Whose your parent Griffin," I asked finally.

"Oh, um, well I really don't have a parent that's a god. I'm a, well-,"

"Lets just say that he's not a demigod," cut in Christina.

"I thought you weren't talking to me anymore. Besides," I said hastily before she could open her mouth and retaliate, "if he's not a demigod, then he's a mortal and if he's a mortal he can't see Camp-Half Blood let alone enter, right?"

"Logan, he wouldn't be traveling with us to Camp-Half Blood or even be listening to us if he was mortal smart one. But he's not either one. He's a, well, lets just say, half-goat and half-human."

_That sounds familiar,_ I thought. I racked my brains, trying to remember the word that went with that definition. Finally I came across it and nearly yelped.

"Oh my gosh! You-you're a satyr!" I stammered.

"Shhhh! Not so loud because of _them_," Christina whispered motioning her head towards the mortals around us. I mean sure, some of them were walking around with a IPods, talking on cell phones or with one another but I didn't think that New Yorkers would listen to a couple of kids' conversation.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm still your best friend even though I'm different. But yes Logan, I'm a satyr. I have to _dress _like a human in order to _pass _like a human. And do you know what satyrs do?"

I thought for a second. I shook my head.

"A satyr will go out into the real world and look for demigods. When a satyr thinks it had found one, they stay and keep tabs on them until they are quite sure that they are a demigod and are ready for camp. Then they have to escort the demigod to camp safely before its too late," he said.

"Too late for what?" I asked.

"Before a monster or a hoard of them kill the demigod," he answered without trouble.

"Oh."

There was an uneasy silence for a few seconds.

"There's one other thing about monster too," Christina piped in.

"What?" I demanded.

"You can't kill a monster. You can only expel them for sometime. If your lucky, you can expel them for a whole lifetime which is rare," she replied, smirking (for a I-don't-know-why reason. There's nothing to smirk about really).

"Well that clears everything up. I guess your saying that the same monster will keep coming back to kill you?" I asked glumly.

"No, not technically," she chuckled. "Monsters just pop up whenever they sense a demigod."

"Even if you don't know you're one," I snorted.

"No. Like I said, your scent becomes stronger when you know you're a demigod, attracting monsters. So if you know you're a demigod, more monster will attack. The less you know the better, and the less amount of monsters you will have to deal with."

"Oh now I see where you're going with this. Do satyrs attract monster too?" I immediately regretted that as soon as it came out of my mouth (blame my ADHD). I should've known the answer after all this information I was being told. It was an automatic answer of-

"No."

What I didn't know was why. But Griffin answer my unvoiced question.

"Satyrs don't attrace monsters because they're not part god, so it won't count," reasoned Christina.

"Yeah," I drawled, scratching my head. "I kind of figured that."

"Then why'd you ask?" snapped Griffin who looked offended.

"Well, um, I kind of blurted it out," I blushed. Off to my right, Christina laughed which hadn't happen for a long tine. The last time she laughed was when she was helping me that one time.

"Griffin, be nice. He's just finding out he's a demigod."

"And that he can die from monster attacking every three feet?" exaggerated Griffin.

"Griffin," I joked, "You're now scaring me. And that's not intentionally something positive I had on my mind."

"Ha-ha."

"Well Logan, there it is. Camp Half-Blood Hill," piped in Christina.

"_Whaaat_?" I questioned.

"Oh just come and look for yourself," she grumbled. I walked up next to her with Griffin following, not realizing that we had been walking up a hill. Griffin seemed to be sniffing out something but I didn't really want to find out what it was. I took one look at the valley that was lain in front of me and I lost my breath completely.

"Whoa. That's so…so…beautiful." The words felt strange in mouth. However, that's not what caught my attention the most. What really caught my attention was-

"The beach. Oh my gosh. Its so…wow," I breathed.

"It's so calm looking I guess," she finished.

"No…well…yeah. It's so calm looking," I stuttered. Suddenly there was a low, but yet vicious growl behind me. Christina and I spun around to see a massive, black dog the size of a rhino with lava red eyes.

"Is that a hellhound? If so, then mortals won't see a really large dog. They're going to see a really large wolf the size of a rhino charging us."

"Shut up and don't move…a _muscle_," murmured Christina.

"Then why are you talking?" I asked.

"And you're the one to talk. You know what I mean," she hissed.

"Christina I don't think this is time for talking," said Griffin. "We should just run since were close to the borders. And besides, this will be easy. I'll get Logan to safety and you can kill the hellhound or out-run it since you're the best swordsperson, runner and everything else at camp."

Now you're probably figuring, things couldn't just get any worse. Wrong. As if on cue, three more massive hellhounds emerged from the shadows. I mean like literally, I could have sworn up and down all day, insisting that they had materialized right then and there out of those dark, creepy shadows.

"Maybe this won't be as easy as I thought it would," whimpered Griffin.

"Yeah, well…DUH! Besides Griffin, you can't out-run a hellhound. They're as quick as lightning. Even if you could, they could just shadow-travel and appear in your path… BAM!" Griffin jumped as Christina snapped her finges to show how fast and the hellhounds snarled. "Just like that within a matter of seconds, clawing at your throat."

"Good point," he faltered. "Now what? I don't want to be goat steak!"

"That's just disgusting Griffin. How about we go with Plan B?" she said.

"And what does that happen to be?" he asked nervously, now beginning to chew on his fingernails.

"Mmmm. How about the human-sandwich strategy? So that we can keep him safe?" she asked.

Griffin whimpered. "Man, I _hate_ that name for it. We better ask for the name to be changed. But okay. I guess it will work."

"Or you can just run and get help while I protect him," she added.

"How about I'll do both plans. If Plan B gets out of hand, I'll run for help."

"Fine. Or, if you just want to save the trouble for me, maybe you can run right now while I handle them and protect Logan," she insisted.

"But-," he never got time to finish his sentence because then somewhere off to my left, a growl sounded. Three more emerged from the shadows…again. Now there were seven massive hellhounds that were about to rip me and Christina to shreds and turn Griffin into a nice t-bone of goat steak on a BBQ. Lovely and quite repelling at the same time.

"Run," Christina whispered. "I'll make a distraction."

"Okay," cried Griffin quietly. Christina then reached into her pocket and pulled out something gold that I then realized later was a key. As soon as she had brought it out of her pocket, it began to morph into a bronze sword. All the hellhounds growled hesitantly.

"Go now while you can Griffin," she urged. He hesitated too, and then finally made up his mind while the hellhounds were distracted who were now eyeing the sword warily as Christina moved it back and forth. Griffin looked at me, nodded and tore off running, well more like waddling and galloping. He made it to the border and crossed it now screaming for help. I then focused back on Christina who was now done hypnotizing the hellhounds.

"Put your back up against mines," she said. "This will keep you from being attacked on both sides."

I pushed my back up against hers and felt something I had never felt before. I could feel power radiating off of her, coursing through her muscles and to her brain, preparing her for any sudden movement. Suddenly, the first hellhound jumped and in quick, easy swipe, Christina brought her sword up, slashing through its body and turning it to dust that rained upon us in a dusty, liquid-like feeling substance.

"Aw, _gross_!" I protested. "Does this always happen?"

"No. Sometimes they burst into flames or something else," she murmured.

"Right. This is gross."

I barely finished my sentenced before two hellhounds pounced. Immediately I felt some kind of bump and the next thing I realized, Christina had a silver bow drawn with a sliver arrow too. With great accuracy, she shot one of them and threw her sword like a javelin, at the other one.

"Whoa. Well three down, and four to go," I gulped. How are you going to manage?"

"You'll see. When I say duck, you better duck automatically. You understand?"

I nodded. I didn't need to be told twice. I already had a bad feeling that if I didn't do what she said, I would probably die within a matter of seconds. Sure enough I was correct. Three hellhounds leaped (and by now I was figuring that they had learned their lesson), when Christina yelled, "Duck!" and I did. I looked up in time to see her spin her sword in a head-cut motion. Each hellhound disintegrated leaving a dying growl still hanging in the air. _How did she retrieve her sword without even leaving my side._

"Holy moly. That was amazing. But there's still one more," I said.

"Yeah, I know. I can count. I'm not that stupid," she grumbled.

"Hey, I was just saying," I replied as she began to point her arrow. For one scary moment, I thought she was just going to shoot my right then and there. But she didn't. Instead she shot straight up just as the hellhound bunched its muscles, ready to strike. I was going to look up when Christina said the opposite, "Don't look up!" Just as the hellhound leaped, she threw herself into me, knocking me out of the way. I watched as the hellhound landed on the spot clumsily were we had been a split second ago. As it turned to face us again, the arrow Christina had shot came back to earth, piecing the hellhound. However, what surprised me even more was the fact that it didn't disintegrate into dust. Instead of doing that, it burst into flames and was gone.

"That was waaaay to easy," said Christina.

"What the? Why did that hellhound burst into flames and not into dust like the other ones? What do you mean that was _waaaay_ to easy? They could've killed you!" I pestered. Before she could answer, a conch horn sounded and Griffin, a man with a horses half end, and some campers came to greet us.

"Yeah baby! That was totally awesome!" shouted some crazy looking kid. He looked like he had just taken a nap, gotten into a fight with someone, and been burned by something all at the same time. Parts of his arms legs and face were smoking and had soot on them. He had a black eye, a cut on his cheek, a nasty looking gash on his arm and to add to that, his hair was sticking up all over the place. Oh yeah, and he looked like he was on drugs too.

"What happened, Christina? We heard a bunch of howls and Griffin came running saying you needed help. And please tell me why Logan is covered in dust?" asked the half-horse man. I didn't know how he knew my name, but I guess Christina had told before I came to camp.

"How about we explain this inside the border before more monsters attack because of our aura," she answered. The half-horse man nodded and told everyone to get back inside the border and go back to what they were doing. No one moved.

"We want to hear what happened," argued some kid.

"Inside the border," Christina growled.

"Come on everyone," said a girl's voice. "If Christina and Chiron said inside the border first, then get inside the border. You know that all of your scents together attract more monster," finished the girl.

Everybody began to move back into the border quickly. Some of them were muttering among themselves and others were looking at me mysteriously.

"Lillian!" exclaimed Christina. I looked over and saw Christina hugging a girl who was obviously Lillian. When Lillian drew back, I finally got a good look at her. She had blonde hair, startling gray eyes, a deep tan and was wearing owl earrings. But what really caught me attention at first was her gray eyes. No one had gray eyes. This was the first person I had seen in my whole life with gray eyes.

"Logan this is my sister and she is the daughter of Athena," Christina introduced.

"You have a sister?" I asked. "Well then that explains some things about you. You must be the daughter of Athena who is a goddesses of…..of," I stuttered, frowning.

"The goddess of wisdom and battle strategy," completed Christina.

"Yeah. So if you're the daughter of Athena, the goddesses of wisdom and battle strategy, that means your dad is a mortal, huh?" I questioned. I starting to feel pretty good with myself because I thought I had outsmarted her when she dumbfounded me.

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"None of your business. When you need to know then I'll tell you," she answered in a steely voice.

"Fine then."

"Christina. Why don't you show him around and tell him what's going on," said the half-horse man. I had totally forgotten that he was still standing there.

"We've discussed _that_ situation all ready while we walking here," we both said at the same time.

"Ah. Well I had kind of figured that already. That explains the monster dust all over you," he replied looking at me.

"How did you know that monsters attacked us?" I inquired stupidly.

"Well your friend Griffin told me what was happening, we heard a bunch of snarling and howling on the hill, and I've seen for thousands of years to know what monster _stuff_ looks like when they disintegrate. And to add to that, I would've figured by the time you told him he was a demigod, it wouldn't take long for the monsters to pursue him," he chuckled.

"Excuse me again. But who are you?" I demanded, staring at his half that was part horse.

I mean, this half-horse half-guy was starting to freak me out. One, he reminded me of Mr. Johnson and…wait a second…hold up. The scary thing was he looked almost exactly a like Mr. Johnson. And what was even more scarier was two, he started to freak me out more when he said, "I've seen for thousands of years _blah blah blah_." Now that wasn't possible. No one can live for thousands of years except for the gods. Or unless they had super powers or something like that. But anyways, I couldn't figure out if this guy was a god who was at camp, or if he was just playing with me. I was about to find out.

"I am Chiron or else so called in your school, Mr. Johnson."

"Really? And you're a…a…I don't know what the heck you are," I stammered.

"Perhaps this may make your light bulb above your head go on," he answered. I looked above my head.

"I don't see any _light bulb_ above my head wise and almighty one," I teased. Obviously, he wasn't seeing this as a joke.

"Yes I find that highly amusing. Anyways, I am Chiron the centaur and your teacher Mr. Johnson. However, you may not call me Mr. Johnson or-,"

"What about Mr. Couple Thousand Year Old Man? Or Mr. Centaur Johnson? Or here's something better. How about Mr. Wi-,"

"OR, Mr. Wise and Almighty One," he finished cutting me off with a stern look.

"That was what I was about to say," I grumbled.

"You may only call me Chiron at camp and Mr. Johnson in class, and that's _if_ you ever go back to Billanus Boarding Academy School."

"Oh that sounds really reassuring. So your Chiron," I said. I racked my brains trying to remember because that name was oddly familiar. Then it snapped in my brain.

"Whoa. _You're_ the actual Chiron? Like the Hercules-trainer Chiron? Aren't you suppose to be dead?" I blurted. Chiron looked at me as if I had just marvelously figured out what sword plus monster equals monster dust (depending if the monster hasn't killed you first. If it had, then, well, it would be demigod-dust).

"Why? You expect me to be dead?" he grunted.

"No! I didn't mean _that_ way. I just meant like…that um, in the myths they said you died some _heroic_ death even though you-you're a centaur," I fretted.

"Mmmm. Isn't that what _all_ myths say. But lets move on. The good thing is, you made it to Camp Half-Blood alive and that Christina and Griffin has explained everything to you. Now all you need is to take the tour around camp. Will you do it Christina?" he questioned raising an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry Chiron, but I've got archery lessons with Alethia at three and right now its five to three so, by the time I get to the archery range, it will be about three. Also, will you Iris-message Logan's mom? I told her I would so she knows Logan is safe," she explained.

"Yes, I will. And now I remember you saying something about archery this morning. My brain has been kind of slow and forgetful because of some of the conflicts that are happening between the gods that keep troubling me. Well you better get going. I'll have your sister Lillian take him for the tour. Will you Lillian?"

"Sure thing Chiron. Come on Logan," chuckled Lillian.

"Bye," I said.

"Bye. See you soon," answered Christina. Then she turned, and began running down the hill to meet her friend at the archery range. I looked at Chiron who nodded in reply and with that, I took one last glance out past the border thinking about my mom, before I followed Lillian for the tour.

* * *

**A/N: Ok so I know my chapters are long because I have a lot of detail but I can't really help it. I'm trying to shorten them but if you have any suggestions on if I should shorten them or not, please review. And I know the beginning of this is really slow. Sorry. But review please and subscribe if you want. More to come. Thanks guys! :)**


	5. Jerkface and the Children of War

**Christina:**

I reached the archery range, scanning it for my best friend. I found her at the other end of the range, near the forest. She had curly, jet black hair, high arching eyebrows and electric blue eyes. She looked intimidating and pretty powerful, which she was only if you ticked her off. But besides that, she was pretty chill and cool to hang with. Her name was Alethia Grace Aquila, the Daughter of Zeus.

When I reached her, we talked for some time and she informed me that the tree nymphs got into an incident with the Ares kids. The Ares kids had shot a couple of arrow into their tree trunks on purpose because they thought it would be funny to play a prank. And so the tree nymphs got revenge by using their woodland magic to grow vines and plants and wild stuff in the Ares cabin. So the Ares kids got longer hours of chores while the wood nymphs got to set up the courses. She said the nymph that led the little revenge party was Maple. When she finished explaining, Maple came walking up, glaring at me and Alethia.

"She looks smug," I acknowledged.

Alethia smirked.

"Well here you demigods go. Your stupid, idiotic archery targets. Good luck with trying to hit them," Maple grumbled.

"Oh don't worry. Its not like were going to shot some arrows into _your_ trunk," retorted Alethia.

"Don't even mention that incident," growled Maple.

"Why shouldn't I? Everybody is talking about it. Besides, you wood nymphs and the Ares cabin deserve what they got," snapped Alethia.

"Shut up!" hissed Maple, her face turning a shade of a light brown, the color of maple.

"Go turn back into a maple tree, _Maple_," spat Alethia.

Maple looked at me angrily and snarled, "I guess your going to side with your friend, are you?"

"Yeah, I sure am. You guys deserve what you got," I said. Maple glared at me and with a small _pop_, she was gone leaving a sweet, hot maple scent behind that was blown away by the light wind.

"_Well_ then. Let's just continue as if nothing happened."

We notched our arrows again and shot. They went flying through the air, planting themselves right flat in the middle of the target.

"Bulls-eye!" shouted a voice. Alethia and I spun around to see a boy walking toward us with his bow and his quiver full of arrows. I blushed and so did Alethia.

"Thanks Lynch," I beamed.

He grinnedand his straight teeth gleamed. Lynch Fuller was the son of Apollo and like a brother to me and Alethia. He had blonde hair that turned gold in the sunlight and he was built like a long distance runner. He was somewhat tan and had nice arm muscles.

"What brought you here?" Alethia asked.

"Well, I was thinking about practicing with you guys if you don't mind," he said.

"Oh, all right." I said.

"So I heard that there is a new camper here," Lynch said, taking aim. "Determined or undetermined."

"Undetermined. His name is Logan Moore. He is on the tour with my sister Lillian." I informed, watching him send the arrow into the blue area.

"Ah. Well I guess I'll see him tonight at dinner or at some point today," he chuckled.

* * *

About half-an-hour later, we were drenched in sweat. We had tried different moves and different attacks. I even told them about the fight that happened on the hill.

"Well duh Christina. Of course it would've been _waaaay_ to easy for you. It's because of your parents and also being a-," said Alethia.

"I know already! Everybody tells me that all the time whenever I fight a monster in the woods or when I'm just battle training! Why can't people just see me as what they are?" I exclaimed frustratingly. No one answered.

After an uncomfortable silence, Alethia and Lynch went to go get a drink of water. I told them I would catch up to them.

"Maple, come here," I huffed once they were out of earshot. The was _pop_ and then she was here.

"What do you want?" she grumbled.

"To talk to you about your _duties_ that got assigned to you after the Ares incident."

"Oh please, I really, really, absolutely don't want to talk about it!" she said, raising her voice.

"Too bad because I'm going to anyways, whether you like it or not," I growled.

"Why would you want to talk to a wood nymph? All you did was make fun of me with you little friend. Besides what good would I do for you?" she argued.

"Well if you don't want to have your duties cut short than fine!" I shouted.

"Yeah, well, I don't wa-. Wait. Did you just say you could cut my duties short?" she asked, suddenly interested.

"Um, duh. Unless you want to be stuck doing them for the rest of the month." I said.

"Oh. So do I have to do them but my time gets cut in half?"

"Here's your choice. If you can do six good deeds, try not to make Mr. D or the campers mad for a whole week, then I will cut your duties short. But until then, you'll be doing full time duties." I said. "Only if you take this deal." I added.

Maple thought for a second and then finally agreed. "So I have to do six good deeds, try not to make Mr. D mad or the campers mad for a whole week to get my duties get cut short. But while I'm doing this, I'll be doing full time duties." she repeated. "Yep."

"What if I don't do it in a whole week?"

"Then you start over. Today's Thursday. Therefore, if you did six good deeds and don't make Mr. D mad, you'll be fine. But if you do fail, you'll have to wait until the next Thursday, before you start again."

"Ok. Well thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. Just remember this bargain. And don't go blabbing your mouth either or else," I warned.

"Fine," And without a proper goodbye, she disapppeared with a _poof_ of green smoke.

I began walking out of the archery range feeling a little nervous. _What if I couldn't be able to cut her duty time short?_ I thought. _Maybe I was so sure when I was telling her that I could._ Stop it, I told myself. _You can cut her duty time short if you talk to the right person._

As I trudged across the lawn, I thought about Friday night and who I would want on my team because Friday night was Capture the Flag like Alethia had said. Finally I made to where Alethia and Lynch were drinking some water and were talking with some other campers that were also drenched in sweat. We began to talk for a little bit about what had been happening at camp while I was gone, and what had been going on with me when I was at the school with Logan. There was a pause for a few seconds and then we started talking about Logan.

"So, is he determined or undetermined," asked Liam stupidly. I looked at him as if he were really that stupid not to know the answer already. He smiled.

"Undetermined idiot or else everybody would be talking about it."

"True. Very true," he said, stroking his chin as if he had a beard.

"So…what activity do you have next?" Alethia asked.

"I think tree-jumping class. Why should I go to it even though I made up the technique myself?"

"Because you might lose skill in it," she reasoned. I looked at her like that was impossible for that to happen.

"How can I, if I made the technique up?" I said. Alethia shrugged.

"I guess its because you get out of practice. Kind of like when you train with a bow and an arrow and then you don't use it for a while so that when you go to practice or fight, you miss aim or it doesn't feel right because your out of practice."

The conch horn sounded in a distance, signaling us to move to the next activity. Lynch asked where I was going.

"Well, I'm planning on going to the sword arena and practicing. Also I was going to visit the armory to get Logan a balanced sword because I've got a feeling that when I go to the sword arena, I'll end up seeing him there," I replied. They nodded and saying goodbye, they left.

* * *

I arrived at the sword arena, a big circular place with walls, and found that I was either up for a challenge or the campers in there were. On one side of the arena, there was at least a dozen of big, strong, ruff looking campers. On the other side of the arena were a bunch of honey blond hair, stormy gray eyes, athletic looking campers. The ruff looking kids are the children of Ares, the war god. The others campers were the children of Athena, goddesses of wisdom and battle strategy.

"What is going on here," I said. One of the Ares kids looked at me and sneered.

"Well look who it is. The one who always interferes in fights."

"Nice to see you too, Sophia." I grumbled.

"And isn't the hero of the day too? The one who brought a new camper to camp"

"Yeah, so. Got a problem with that? Or are you just jealous that I went out into the real world for nine months and came back with a new camper; something that you couldn't do?" I taunted. Sophia's look turned to rage. She tried to make a desperate attacking lunge at me but her brothers and sisters pulled her back.

"Let go of me!" she screeched at them. "She's the one who's asking for a fight! Not me!"

"Actually _you're_ the one who's asking for a fight because you are the one who tried to attack me just right now," I said.

"You little-," she started.

"Uh uh uhh. No profanity," I replied. Before she could react, one of Sophia's sisters leaned down in whispered something in her ear.

"Fine then," Sophia told her. She looked at me with hatred. "My sister just told me that you can be on Athena's team because we are planning on doing a practice battle." she snorted.

"You don't think I know that already? Besides why would I want to be on your team?"

"I didn't say that I wanted you on my team," she growled.

"Basically you did," I said.

"Prove it."

"I will. You said, 'My sister just told me that you _can_ be on Athena's team' which means that I could choose either to be on your team or on Athena's team. But if I did have a choice, I would've picked Athena anyways because why would I want to be on the team of Ares?" I replied back. Sophia glared at me and made a deep growling sound in the back of her throat.

"You want to mess with Ares, Christina? Then fight us. One against my cabin if you think your so tuff."

"Fine. I don't care. I'll whip your butt easily."

"Yeah right. We'll see how tuff you are after I've won."

"I highly doubt that, Sophia." I turned around facing the Athena cabin.

"Don't help me in this battle. You know full well that I'll whip their butts." The Athena cabin nodded and backed out until they were at the rim of the arena.

"Now time to get down to business. Let's see what you've learned," snarled Sophia, unsheathing her sword. I chuckled.

"Oh, I've learned a lot. But you guys haven't learned anything because you think you can win a fight against me."

"Whatever. We'll see who's laughing in the end," was her only reply before she yelled, "Attack!" Her front line of six people came charging at me. As the first one approached, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was Logan and Lillian coming up to the arena. They froze next to the Athena campers and stared in shock as six Ares warriors charged me.

As the first Ares warrior swung his sword to my head, I ducked and hit him in the head with the butt of my sword. Thank the gods that he had a helmet on or his head would've become more thick-headed or brain jelly. Number 2 and Number 3 attack viciously. Number 2 bent down and swung his sword so that the flat side of his blade would knock me off balance. But I jumped and instead of tripping me, he tripped his teammate who I slashed with my sword. As the last three out of the six warriors from the first row came towards me, Sophia yelled for her line to attack. The three that had been running at me had slowed down so they could combine with the last line. Soon nine warriors were charging me with Sophia leading them.

_This should be easy_, I thought.

Then Sophia barked an order and four Ares kids came forward but not at the same time. They would give one another a few seconds head start before coming at me. As soon as the first one came, our swords clashed together. She tried to take a swing but I was behind her I elbowed her right below her neck about in between her shoulder blades, so that she fell in pain. Number 2 came at me quick as lightning. He swung and our swords clashed together too but this time he was too slow. Obviously his sword was not his balance because he tried to pick it up quickly but I used my elbow again and hit him between his left shoulder and neck then using my knee, kneed him in his gut. Number 3 was either really stupid or was just brave because she came at me with no problem. But when she came, she tripped over her gear, so I just left her. Number 4 paused for a second until Sophia told him to attack me and not to stand there like a idiot. His sword hit mine and for a second he held me in a pose. Finally, without a warning, I yanked downward and swept him rapidly off his feet. By this time, Sophia was outraged by the fact that I had already had injured half her cabin.

"You're so dead, Christina. You're so dead," she yelled.

"I'd like to see that happen!" I retorted.

"It will!" she answered.

"Yeah, right. Because I'm about to die of laughter because you're just wasting time."

Sophia's face turned the color of pepperoni, and charged me with her five remaining warriors.

"Christina! What are you doing? You're going to lose against them! There is no way that you can fight them all?" yelled someone that I realized was Logan. _Oh we'll see about that,_ I thought. I let my instincts take over and I went autopilot. I knew that fighting more than five at once on ground was hard enough.

"Come and get me if you can!" I shouted. I turned heel and began running. I heard footsteps pounding on the marble floor behind me and I knew I was being pursued by all of them just as I wanted them to. I began to slow down as I got closer to one of the pillars letting the Ares kids get in striking distance but when one came forward, I leaped up the pillar, pushed off and flipped once, twice, three times before landing on my feet behind Sophia and her warriors. I looked ahead in time to see the one warrior trying to slow down before slamming face-first into the pillar I had flipped off of.

"Ahhhh!" she screeched. "Look what you did! You just injured my best warrior!"

"Wow. That's saying a lot about you and your warriors," I retorted sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" she growled.

I glanced back real quick and saw that Logan had his jaw hanging open with a stunned look on his face. I had probably stunned him with my flips but he had just only saw the a beginners move because he didn't know what else I had up my sleeve and he still didn't know how long I had been training here and how good I was. I looked back at Sophia and said, "Well you just said, 'you just injured my best warrior' which means you're not as good as a fighter as she was and that she was very unintelligent and blind because she just ran into a STUPID PILLAR!"

"You know what? That's it. You just pulled my last straw. You're going down," she responded.

"Go ahead. Take one step forward and I will make you wish you had never asked or challenged me into this fight," was my answer. She blinked once and then her eyes reduced to slits which meant either she was thinking this through (which would be a first) and was about to be smart and give up or she was going to play brave and be stupid by charging me for the finishing fight. Of course, I knew deep down that she wasn't going to give up and was going to pick the choice of playing brave and being stupid. And she did. She screamed at her warriors to attack me and they did. Now at this point, I thought they couldn't get anymore stupider. However, they did. Sophia let herself drop behind all the others so that she could fight me last if all her first warriors fell first against me.

_Good thinking, but I'll still defeat you in the end,_ I considered. There were still five warriors because the one warrior who had tripped and fell because her gear was too big, had finally gotten up and was with her fellow warriors.

"Use Lightning Strike!" Sophia screeched at her warriors.

We rarely used Lightning Strike during battle training. No one really considered it useful unless you had a bunch of people. Also I realized the real reason why Sophia had dropped back because she was going to make her team use Lightning Strike on me and she was thinking it was going to make me surrender. Lightning Strike works fine with groups like I said. Lightning Strike is where they surround the other group and attack, but leave and then attack again and so on until the group being attacked surrenders or is defeated. It makes it seem like there is more of them. I guessed Sophia was using it because I was making her lose warriors. The warriors were now like six feet away and I noticed that they had used some of there energy running. I knew automatically that they were going to be slow making the move not that efficient. Boy, I was right.

Soon they had surrounded me and were getting ready to attack. I forced myself to wait until the last moment.

_One Olympian, two Olympians, three Olympians, _and that's when I used my attack.

As they came inward, I leaped straight up so that some of the warriors would run into one another. As I came down, I saw one warrior right below me and I had a sudden idea. _Time to change the plan_, I thought wickedly. I twisted so that instead of seeing the arena wall in front of me, I was seeing the Ares kids in front of me. I came down and landed square flat on the back of the warrior that had been straight below me. When I landed, I grabbed the straps of his armor and flipped. As I flipped, I brought the Ares warrior, who was surprisingly light, flipping with me. I let go at the last moment as we came for the ground, and landed on my feet as the Ares kid went sprawling behind me. One down, four to go. I didn't have much time to finish off the rest of Ares kids because they were beginning to get over there surprise and daze. As quick as lightning, I grabbed the nearest Ares kid and tripped her. Three left. Two Ares kids spun around and lunged at me. Warrior 1 had managed to leap a little to high and I crouched down quickly into squatting position, small enough for the warrior to go flying over me and onto the one I had tripped. Warrior 2 had regained his balance and lunged forward again, sticking his sword under my arm. I crouched down again and jabbed at his legs causing him to collapse.

"Nice try," I told him, "But not efficient or fast enough." His only reply was a loud groan. That left the one warrior who had tripped over her gear the first time, and who didn't look anxious to fight me, and Sophia that stupid idiot who was bidding her time.

"What you going to do now? Fight me or surrender to me since I just beat your whole cabin?" I asked Sophia grudgingly.

"I'll never give up!" she growled. "Trina!" she yelled at the girl who had tripped. "Use the Two-people Macedonia plan!" _Idiot_, I thought. _If I just beat your whole cabin plus the warriors who were using Lightning Strike, do you think the Two-people Macedonia plan will work against me?_ The Two-people Macedonia plan is where you have one move on either side and attack. But seeing how I just beat her cabin, this was going to be easier and she was going to be stupider.

As Sophia and Trina moved onto to either side of me, I flipped my sword back into a golden key, slipped it in my pocket and brought out two wicked, gleaming, silver long daggers about the size of my arms. I saw that Sophia and Trina had paused, wary of my daggers. Trina took one look at them, and backed up a step or two. Sophia was watching them. She didn't know how bad these could hurt even if they weren't Celestial bronze (a type of metal that make monsters disintegrate and freak out at the sight of it. Also hurts demigods too and we use it all the time in battle training or for real battling). Sophia glanced at Trina and nodded. Then they attacked.

Trina came at me faster than I thought she would. As she charged me, Sophia started her attack too. As soon as Trina got to me, she swung her sword which I caught on the hilt of my dagger. She yelped in surprise because that was probably the fastest move she ever saw with a dagger. Sophia finally reached me and tried to make a head cut. I parried the swing and took a swung at her. She blocked mine. Sophia backed up about three steps and came back at me. She tried to make a slash at my arm but I used my foot and caught her in her chest, making her stumble backwards. She winced, trying to catch her breath since I probably had just knocked all the air out of her. As she clutched her chest trying to get her breath back, I realized I had pushed Trina with my dagger so that it was about five inches from her chest. She yanked down and backed up real quick. The look on her face showed wariness and fear of my daggers. _Very un-Ares like_, I thought. Sophia, was now crouching down, still trying to catch her breath but was watching to see what Trina would do.

"Scared," I taunted Trina.

"No," she growled.

"You wish."

"I don't wish, I know."

"You're to dumb witted to know anything," I retorted.

She gave me a pure look of hatred which replaced her fear. She charged me and swung her sword downward which was suppose to come on top of my head but fell short. It would've been a few inches away from my undefended chest (since she had a breastplate on) but I used both my daggers and brought them up into a X so that her sword got caught in the middle.

"What the?" she said surprised. I forced one of my daggers down (using my other dagger to hold her sword in place) and cut a nice size gash across her arm. She howled in pain and collapsed. I turned on Sophia and saw that she had finally gained her breath but had also gotten her strength back.

"You…idiot. You…just…took…out…my…whole cabin," she managed to say since she was trying to control her fury. "You'll pay Christina," was her last reply before she struck.

She came at me fast and I swung one of my daggers at her which she deflected so hard that it clattered out of my hand about five feet away from me. No time to retrieve it because I knew it would return but not soon enough. Thank the gods I had an extra dagger. However, Sophia knocked me off my feet. She slashed downwards and I rolled. She slashed on one side then the other and I would have to keep rolling back and forth. Typical. I rolled backwards in a backward somersault and leaped up. She charged again and I got inside her strike and swung my dagger from side to side making her back up. She snarled in frustration and finally she jumped back far enough from my dagger. But I wasn't going to let her get her strength back so I came at her quick. She saw me coming, took a strike but as soon as my dagger and her sword collided, my dagger hit the base of hers and I put all weight on it forcing it down until it clatter out of her hand. She tried to retrieve but I kicked it away and stuck my dagger an inch from her chest. She froze. I had won because if she moved anywhere else, all it took was one swing to knock her down hard. Sophia was breathing heavily and had broken a lot of sweat. I had broken a little but I wasn't drenched in sweat like she was.

"I guess I win," I told her. "I told you I would win."

"Fine then," she snarled. "You win but if you think the Ares cabin is going to be nice to you just because you won _this_ little battle, you're wrong."

"Oh I didn't say anything about you guys being nice to me or me expecting that. I'm just saying, I always win," I said. By now, the Ares kids were getting up and backing away and out of the arena. Sophia shot a look of hatred at me and left. As soon as she was out the arena, the Athena cabin broke into a roar of triumph. They began to congratulate me and start practicing in dueling pairs while I walked over to where Logan and Lillian were standing.

"Whoa! You just like beat…whipped…I mean…like wow! Where'd you learn to fight like that?" asked Logan exasperated.

"Here at camp and away from camp fighting monsters," I replied.

"Haven't seen you fight like that in a while," said Lillian.

"Yeah. Its been awhile since I've fought like that. Feels great," I answered. "Lets leave and finish your tour Logan."

"Okay."

"Are you going to come with us Lillian?" I asked.

"No, sorry. I was planning on doing sword practice."

"Ok then. Bye Lillian," I said.

"Bye Christina. Bye Logan. I'll see you at dinner or at some point."

"Ok." And with that we left.

* * *

**A/N: All right, I'm going to try to make the chapters shorter because I know they're long. Sorry. Review and subscribe! :)**


	6. Logan Learns Gods and Symbols

**Christina:**

As we walked out of the arena, I asked Logan if he had seen the Climbing Wall and the cabins. He said those where the only places he hadn't seen yet. So we headed for the cabins since that was closest. I explained to him the male cabins were the odd numbers on the left and the female cabins were the even numbers on the right and the order of the cabins. Cabin 1: Zeus; Cabin 2: Hera; Cabin 3: Poseidon; Cabin 4: Demeter; Cabin 5: Ares; Cabin 6: Athena; Cabin 7: Apollo; Cabin 8: Artemis; Cabin 9: Hephaestus; Cabin 10: Aphrodite; Cabin 11: Hermes; Cabin 12: Dionysus.

"So where is Hades cabin?" he asked.

"Oh well, if we had a Hades cabin here, who is Lord of Death and Ruler of the Underworld, it wouldn't be a very nice cabin, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, so basically your replacement for Hades' cabin is Demeter?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," I replied.

"And in Greek mythology, they say that there were six female gods and six male gods so it was equal? Why is there seven male cabins and five female cabins?"

I tried not to say how sexist he was being about the gods and the cabins.

"Well, when Dionysus became and god, there would be 13 major gods and the council would argue because there has always been only 12 major gods, so Hestia gave up her throne to Dionysus. Hades, he well is still a major but he has his own 'Olympus' down in the Underworld. He only comes and sits in the throne room on the winter solstice, never during the summer solstice," I said patiently.

"Wait. They have meetings?" he asked.

"Yeah. Us demigods go to the meetings on the solstices because the gods have the meeting every summer and winter solstice and never on the spring and fall equinoxes. We learned about the equinoxes and solstices in Social Studies class. Remember?"

"Oh, right. So why does Hades only visit during the winter solstice and not during the summer solstice?"

"Well, since Hades is Ruler of the Underworld, he owns the darkest place, right? So the winter solstice is the darkest time of the year while the summer solstice is the brightest time of the year. He fits with the darkest time of the year. Like I said before, we learned about the solstices and how the summer one was the brightest and the winter one was the darkest. Make sense now?" I answered.

Logan nodded and said, "Wow. That makes _a lot_ of sense. Now can you tell me why and what those symbols are above the door? I know I'm asking a lot of questions and everything but this is all new."

"It's ok. Most of the demigods here were like that in the beginning. Confused. Worried. Thought they were hallucinating. Thinking they had gone crazy. Not understanding what's going on," I replied. I understood how he felt but at least his problems weren't as bad as mine.

"Really. You sound like you've been through the same thing but you also make it sound like your not a demigod," he said. After he said that, a balloon of anger welled up inside of me, resenting certain people and certain things and some of my life situations. However I pushed my mind away from that and tried to keep my voice straight.

"Like I said, Logan, most of us have been through the same thing and so have I."

"Oh, right, sorry," he said, his cheeks coloring.

"You know what the signs are for each of the gods?" I asked.

"Well, Zeus' sign is the master thunderbolt. Hera is peacocks. Poseidon is the trident. Cabin four, Demeter's, is the Cornucopia, the Horn of Plenty. For cabin 5, Ares' cabin has a bloody spear with a boars head on top of it including barbed wire. Athena cabin has the owl on top. Apollo's has a lyre on top. Artemis' is a Cyprus tree. Hephaestus is the anvil sign along with the forge sign. Cabin 10, which is Aphrodite's cabin, hers is myrtle and rose. Cabins 11's sign is the caduceus, the sign of Hermes and Dionysus, cabin 12, is the cabin with grapes and a wine glass," he answered proudly. I smiled.

"Yup! And I would hope that you know what each god is. For an example: Athena is the goddesses of battle strategy and wisdom. Ares is the god of war. You know," I replied.

"What? Oh yeah, of course I do," he laughed.

"Ok good. Because I wasn't going to explain any of that anyways. You would have to learn that by yourself," I teased.

"Really? That would really suck for me," he answered.

We began walking to the Climbing Wall. I told him about camp and that you train and train and train. His reply, "this is a lot to process."

"I know," I told him.

"Question," he said.

"Answer," I replied. He laughed along with me.

"The exact same thing was said to me in fifth grade. I didn't get it at first. I went up to the teacher and said 'question' and she said 'answer'. I told her I didn't get it and she said 'you asked a question and I have an answer.'"

"Haha. Ask the question then."

"Will I get made fun of because I have ADHD, ADD and dyslexia. I mean I know you have ADHD and dyslexia, but it doesn't seem like people would make fun of you. They respect you"

"No. We all have ADHD and dyslexia," I answered reassuringly.

"Really. I thought it was really rare."

"Well then either its just me, or ADHD and dyslexia aren't rare."

"So you're saying that we are all ADHD and dyslexia?" he asked.

"Yeah, only demigods," I answered.

"Wow. So are they any use?"

"Good question. Yes."

"How?"

"Well the dyslexic thing really isn't. You're mind is hardwired for Greek and not English. ADHD keeps us alive in battle. You're impulsive. Teachers want you medicated because they don't want you to see them for what they are, a monster. Now for your dyslexia, you don't see to little, you see to much. What a normal demigod would see." Logan let out a long whistle.

"Really? That's just about it and what they do for you as a demigod?"

"Yeah, pretty much," I said scratching the back of my head.

"What about my ADD?" he questioned.

"That's just your regular mental problem. It kind of mixes in with the ADHD thing."

"Oh," he replied.

"I have another question. Do you guys have like routines to do at a certain time or do you just do whatever you want?" Logan inquired curiously.

"Well, lets see. We do have a routine, but sometimes campers just do whatever as long as they go to at least all of activities." I responded.

"What's the activities schedule?" I looked at Logan and thought for a second.

"Well, I don't really feel like going into explanation because everyone's schedules are different. Some of us actually don't even follow the schedules. I mean we're suppose to but some of us don't and we won't get in trouble. The rest of us normally do. But to help you out, I can give yout he basics. From eight until nine is Breakfast and Cabin Inspection. Neatest cabin gets the best activities and longer hot water showers and less chores. The rest of the day is your regular routine. Then, from two until four, you can either do Arts and Crafts with the Hephaestus cabin or Canoe Race with the naiads. If you win first place, you get twenty golden drachmas credit at the camp store. Or if you don't want to do any of those, then you can go to the Climbing Wall with the satyrs and do The Clashing Rocks. Now at four until five, you could go down to the beach to do Swim and Beach Time with the nereids but make sure you bring sunscreen, discus, javelin, etc."

Logan laughed as soon as I said 'javelin'. "Are you serious. Why would you need a javelin in Swim and Beach Time activity."

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because your training in the water. Duh." I said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, never mind, sorry," he answered apologetically.

"Anyways, after that for the next hour you have Free Time, Volleyball, or cabin clean-up. At six until nine is the best activity _but_, on Fridays only. It's Capture the Flag. You're required to have all combat gear as usual and then all magical items are allowed in the game."

"So, when do you guys eat dinner?"

"At 7:30 the rest of the week and then during that Free Time on Friday. Just follow your cabin to the Mess Hall which is where we eat. Then, after Capture the Flag or even on normal days, from nine until ten, a Sing-A-Long and Bonfire with the Apollo cabin in the amphitheater. And at ten, you prepare for bed and lights out by eleven, which is curfew. If you're out past curfew, then the harpies get to eat you. So, I'm leaving the rest of the schedule and information to you to find out.

"Dang, this is a lot to process," he stressed.

"I know how you feel. Trust me by the end of this week, you'll be just about used to the routine and the activities. To reassure you so you don't freak out about being late for the next activity, they always use a conch horn to sound the signal to move."

"Thanks. That really reassured me because I did just about freak out over that," he confessed.

"No problem," was my only reply.

"Now I have one more question. When you leave camp to hunt other demigods out and to bring them to camp safely, do you get to do whatever you want for the rest of the day if you come back with a demigod?"

"Yes and no. Like I said when I was explaining the satyr thing, only satyrs get assigned to look for new demigods and keep tabs on them. It was just a coincidence that I was going to the same school because Chiron let me out into the real world after pestering him so much and Griffin getting assigned to Billanus Boarding Academy School. When he found out I was there and learned about you and thought you might be a powerful demigod, he alerted Chiron who came to the school to teach you. But not just for you. Chiron wanted to get out into the real world himself and see how I was doing. He also wanted a teachers job," I explained.

"So basically it was a coincidence that Griffin found out you were at the same school and that I was a demigod and that Chiron wanted a teacher job and found Billanus Boarding Academy," he said.

"Yeah, that just about clears it up."

When we reached the edge of the river, Logan saw the Climbing Wall and said, "Whoa. Why is it pouring lava and why are the rocks clashing together?" I smiled. "A bit of an extra challenge. Come on, I'll show you because Free Time is almost up."

"Ok. You said Capture the Flag was on Fridays. It's Monday. Will I be fighting in Capture the Flag even though I just got here and don't know how to use a sword?" Logan asked curiously.

"Yeah," I said grinning.

"What? Really? But I don't even know how to use a sword!" he exclaimed.

"That's why we have the Sword and Shield activity where you can learn to use a sword and shield in the arena," I advised.

"Oh, right."

We kept walking only this time in silence. It was only when we reached the Climbing Wall when he spoke.

"So, um, has anybody died from the lava or from just falling off because of the two walls clashing together?"

I frowned and decided to make a positive comment so I wouldn't scare the crap out of him.

"Umm, no. As far as I know and have been here, nobody has died from the lava or falling off because of the walls. Although, there has been some terrible injuries but they don't result in death," I said cautiously.

"Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Because if someone had died, I think Chiron or Mr. D would've told us the first time we try to use the Climbing Wall _or_ I think there would've been an advisor there so every time we use the Climbing Wall, they would tell us to be careful or would make the Climbing Wall super safe with all the precaution stuff and equipment mortals use," I reassured.

Logan let out a whistle. "Wow. Now to come to think of it, mortals always want to make things safe while us demigods just take risks and don't really care."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," I laughed. "Now let me show what to do and how to use the Climbing Wall. Then I'll help you get to the top."


	7. My Final Shocker

**Logan:**

I made it to the top of the Climbing Wall in 20 minutes without too much trouble even though the lava had almost gotten me. By the time I had gotten to the top of the wall, my shirt was smoking and had little burned holes and the hairs on my forearms had been singed off. Christina had saved me a couple of times before I could either fall off or get hit by the lava.

"Not bad hero," she had told me, "most first year campers that just got to camp and saw the wall, would not be so anxious to try it."

"Oh, well, I don't have anything against walls that pour lava and clash together," I said, suppressing a smile.

"You will soon have something against this wall as soon as you fall off for no reason or because you just can't make it to the top because the wall is too violent on you," she joked.

"Very funny," I replied, trying to pull a straight face and make my voice sound not amused. It didn't work.

"You find it funny because you're trying as hard as you can not to laugh," she said laughing. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore on trying to pull a straight face when I burst out laughing. She had made me laugh and I realized that she was fun to hang around with if you weren't making her mad.

"So now what?" I asked. She thought for a split second and answered, "Do you want to go to the beach?"

"Sure. Why not"

We walked in silence, not sure what to say to one another. Finally I came up with a question.

"So who do you think my godly parent is? Do you think its going to be Hermes? Because I really just a loser and since Hermes is jack-of-all-trade, not saying Hermes is a loser, I could probably fit right on in. Or, do you think I could be the son of Hephaestus? I mean, I'm good at building stuff and figuring out how to build something," I said. Christina chuckled.

"Ohhhh, I highly doubt that you will be the son of Hephaestus because the building and all that stuff requires lots of math and working in the forges all day long making nothing but weapons and repairing other stuff. Also, you would have to be non-stop, all day long putting random pieces together quickly and then dissembling them as quick as you had made it with your hands."

"Oh. Never mind," I said. "What about if I was the son of Apollo or Dionysus?"

"How goods your singing? Do you play any instruments? Are you good with poetry?" she asked.

"What's this got to do with anything?" I demanded.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Just answer the question," Christina sighed.

"No. I don't sing. I _don't_ even like singing either. I also don't play instruments because I think if I tried, I would break glass or something which is saying _a lot._ Also, I'm not even good with poetry. I suck."

"Ok then. You probably wouldn't be the son of Apollo either because he is the god of the sun, poetry, medicine, and music, like I said when we were discussing the cabins and the symbols of power."

"Right. Now what about Dionysus kid?"

"Are you good with growing grapes and knowing different kinds of wine?"

"No…I don't grow grapes. And the wine thing…I don't drink wine."

"I didn't ask if you drink wine. I asked if you know different kinds of wine."

"Oh…um, no I don't know different kinds of wine. I can't even tell the difference when I look at the bottle of wine without reading what kind it is."

"Then you wouldn't be the son of Dionysus," she answered.

"Hmmm. What about Demeter's son?"

"You good with plants and growing them?" she asked solemnly.

"Um, no," I said firmly. "Every plant I touch, I usually kill it. What I mean is, my mom asks me to water the plants and I end up over watering or not watering it enough. She asks me to take care of them and I end up killing them before 24 hours is up."

"Mmmm. That says a lot about you and plants. And since Demeter is the goddesses of wheat and plants and all the crop harvesting, then you wouldn't be the son of her."

"Oh, ok." I tried not to feel too disgraced that she didn't know what to make of my dad. I also tried not to feel too disgraced about not being able to know who my dad was and if I was going to ever be claimed.

"Please Logan. Really? Don't feel disgraced. You'll get claimed," she tells me.

"Do all the demigods here get claimed?" I inquired cautiously.

"No. Sometimes the demigods who don't know who their godly parent, get stuck inside the Hermes cabin because Hermes isn't picky about who is in his picks. He shares it with all kids."

I was silent because I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to be claimed. Here she was telling me that some demigods don't get claimed so they don't know their godly parent and then they just randomly get stuck inside the Hermes cabin. How unfair was that?

"Just don't worry about it okay? I'm am quite sure that you'll get claimed. Lets just focus on something else to take your mind off of the gods sometimes claiming their kids. Ok Logan?" she assured.

"Fine." We walked in more silence as we kept heading towards the beach. When we reached the beach, I saw that some other demigods were there. Some were putting on sunscreen while others picked and prepared themselves with javelins and other weapons. We watched as one camper hustled by taking a glance at me. Another camper ran by, but this time she stopped and said to me, "You're the new camper, eh?" She looked just like Lillian, honey blond hair and startling gray eyes. She must've been one of Lillian's sisters. A daughter of Athena.

"Yeah. Nearly got ripped to pieces by seven hellhounds before I crossed the border," I answered.

"So I've heard," she sneered. "You should be grateful that Christina was there to save your sorry butt. Because if she hadn't," the girl made a cutting motion over her neck with her finger, "You would've been dead." She looked at Christina but her expression was hard to read. She took one last unfriendly glance at me and left. I let out a whistle.

"What's her problem. Its not like I did anything to her. Who is she?"

"That's Fansalee Mueller, another daughter of Athena."

"Figured," I commented.

"Oh shut up. You wouldn't want the children of Athena as your enemy, especially on your first day at camp, because if you remember, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Besides, I have some pretty bad history with Athena herself, my mom like I told you earlier. Anyways, I wouldn't mind Fansalee too much. She's going to be sour to you for a little bit because you're a new camper. She does it to all new campers and eventually it will wear off," Christina said casually.

"Good enough. What do you mean you have bad history with Athena herself? Have you met her in person?" I noticed.

"Yeah. I've met her. I see her every single time we visit Olympus during the solstices like I told you earlier," she answered in a dangerous tone.

"Right. So what are we going to do?" I said trying to change the subject. I could tell that her and Athena's history was a subject that was dangerous to speak of.

"I know this is going to suck for us but do you want to sit and watch them train in the water so you have an idea of what the beach activity is?"

"Sure." We both found a huge sand dune near the water and sat down about halfway up. I observed the demigods and the women in the water as they trained. Finally I asked Christina what were the women called that were in the water. She told me that they were called nereids.

"There's a difference between nereids and naiads," she told me. "The naiads always flirt and wave at you however they are very, very bad flirts. The nereids never really flirt but they are great at weaving underwater baskets."

After watching them for an hour and me constantly getting up to walk up and down the sand dune, a conch horn sounded in the distance, signaling to move to the next activity.

"What's the next activity Christina?"

"Free Time, Volleyball, or Cabin Clean-up. But since you don't have a cabin yet, lets just roam around and maybe do a couple of games of volleyball against the satyrs. What do you think?" she decided.

"Anything to keep me going," I responded, grinning at her.

* * *

We did roam around camp and play a few games of volleyball against the satyrs.

The satyrs were awesome but Christina was incredible. The way she would watch the ball, and then cup her hands to bounce it back over the net. And she was amazing when she spiked the ball. Her long black and brown, kind of wavy hair glowed in the sunlight making it look lighter and darker in different places. Every single time we took a break in the middle of the game, we would talk and her sea-green eyes would sparkle and catch the light like water smooth and calm on a perfectly beautiful day at the beach. When it was time to resume the game, she would grab her black hair band that she carried on her wrist and tie her hair up into a ponytail. She looked really awesome and for the first time, I noticed that she was wearing seashell earrings, making her more cute. Then the conch horn sounded again and by that time I was almost drenched in sweat.

"Time?" I asked her. She looked at her watch and replied, "Six. I should take you to the Hermes cabin so you can see because that's where you'll be staying tonight. Just follow the cabin when its dinner time which in a hour and thirty minutes."

"Ok." I followed her back to the cabins and she introduced me to the cabin leader, a guy named Landon Caled. He had a warm welcoming and explained that they had already picked a spot for me in the corner to sleep. Since I had nothing to place there, I was pretty fine with sleeping there. Then I noticed something else. There were kids in the Hermes cabin who looked depressed and I realized that they were the kids who hadn't received signs or may never receive signs from their godly parent. There was maybe about five kids who had depressed faces and I didn't know how many others hadn't received signs and weren't showing their depressed faces.

"Why don't you get washed up for dinner?" he said.

"Ok."

Christina showed me where the showers were and then told me that she needed to go and prepare for dinner also.

"See ya'," I said.

"See ya' too," was her only reply before she took off toward the cabins, obviously heading for hers. I wondered why new campers who didn't know there Olympian parent got stuck in the Hermes cabin and not any other cabins so it was less crowded. With that thought hanging over my head, I got showered.

I came out feeling fresh and I checked to see what time it was. Reaching the Hermes cabin, I found them cleaning up with the idea of shoving things under the bead and arguing with one another about stealing each other's stuff. I was about to help but Landon told me I didn't have to. By the time the Hermes cabin had finished accusing one another and 'cleaning' up, it was time for dinner. We filed out and headed for the Mess Hall which was an open roof pavilion.

I saw Christina but she was talking with the centaur, Chiron. I sat at the far end of the Hermes table and Christina joined, sitting between Landon and I. Wood nymphs and dryads melted from the trees with silver platters of food. Barbeque chicken, pork chops, broccoli, warm, buttered rolls and all kinds of mouth-watering food. I loaded my plate and looked at my goblet, wondering where the drinks were. Everyone else's cups were filled. Then off to my right, Christina said, "Speak to it. Ask for anything except for alcoholic things. That's strictly prohibited."

I looked at her like I would be crazy enough to ask for beer or wine. Then I looked back at my cup.

"Root beer," I said and it automatically filled itself with the thick, dark, foamy liquid.

"That's AWESOME," I said in amazement.

Christina smiled and told me to come with her. I saw that everybody else was getting up also and were going to the center of the Mess Hall. I followed Christina and when we reached the middle, I saw a bronze brazier. Campers were scraping in the biggest and ripest fruit, the most freshest piece of meat or the yummiest piece of bread into the flames. Basically they were throwing the best parts out.

"What's that for?" I asked her in awe.

"It's a sacrifice to the gods because they like the smell of the smoke. The smoke doesn't even smell like burning smoke. It smells like foods mixed together that shouldn't go together but do."

"Ooook."

"Then while we are scraping part of the meal into the flames, we say our godly parents name. Come on."

We both scraped part of meal into the flames and I was hoping to catch the name of Christina's godly parent when she said it but she was smarter than that. She told me to go first and I didn't even realize that she didn't want me to hear the name until she had finished. We both walked back to the table, sat down in our places, said blessing to the gods and dug in.

Then Landon said, "What are you doing here at the Hermes table Christina? We're not allowed to switch table to eat. That's the camp rules."

"Hi to you too Landon. I got permission to sit here by Chiron."

"Oh, ok. Never mind then," he grinned.

"So your dad is Hermes? And were not allowed to sit at someone else's table?" I asked Landon.

"Yeah, but Christina basically just overlooks the rules. I'm not saying that she can get away with it or that the rules don't apply to her. What I'm saying is that she basically can just sit wherever and skim the rules because of her godly parents who are-,"

"Landon, shhhh, don't tell him. It's my place you doofus," she said firmly. She turned to me.

"You remember when you ask me who my parents were and I didn't answer you?"

"Yeah. I was wondering why you didn't answer me."

"Because-," she took a deep breath, her face hardening with anger.

And I'll tell you, what she said next said, shocked me.

"Because I'm not really a demigod."


	8. then the Shocking Truth

I started choking on my Greek pasta salad. Landon thumped me on the back several times and I swallowed with difficulty finally, coughing and spluttering.

"What?" I exclaimed in a hoarse voice that had intensity and disbelief in it.

"Yeah. I'm not really a demigod. I'm basically a goddess but I'm also not considered as a true goddess. The gods and the campers call me a 'godly child' for the terms. For an example: instead of us being called half-bloods most of the time, we call ourselves demigods. But since I'm born from _two_ gods, they call me a 'godly child'."

"So why didn't you tell me when I asked you?"

"What have I told you? The more you know you're a demigod the more monsters you attract depending on your parents especially if they are powerful like I mentioned. Well, I the child of two powerful gods and so if I told you when you asked, we would've been attacked by monsters a whole lot worse than hellhounds. Trust me, I know."

"So then, who are your godly parents?" I asked, feeling slightly scared of her.

Landon behind Christina was shaking his head so hard that I thought it was going to fall off or something. Somehow, Christina knew that he was shaking his head.

"It's okay Landon. He has a right to know," she sighed. Landon exhaled and relaxed.

"So whose your godly parents?" I questioned again.

Once again, Christina's face twisted into anger and her jaw tightened. Now I knew why Landon had been shaking his head. This was a really, really touchy and bad subject to talk about obviously.

"My mom is Athena herself, which I hope you remember because this would be the third time I told you-," her jaw got tighter and her face twisted with more anger. "-and Poseidon, God of the Seas, Horses and Earthshaker."

My jaw dropped, and if it had any farther, it would've hit the table and fallen off.

"Oh my gods. That's your dad? So then why do you have bad history with your mom?"

"Actually, I have a very major problem with both my parents," she growled.

"Uh-oh. Sorry to ask, but what kind of problems?"

"Well, I have resented my father and mother because they don't compliment my work, they don't talk to me that often during the meetings, and they just really don't care I think. I know that gods aren't allowed to interfere with their children's battles or quests. They have to act indirectly and not directly because if they acted directly and interfered with out lives too much, it would be messed up. We have to find our own paths."

"Oh that's a little messed up with the gods but I understand. I wouldn't want my father interfering every single time and I wouldn't want my life messed up just because my father acted directly."

"Right. Well anyways, I have no memories and I mean no memories of my past. All I remember is the one year I was with Lillian at home before running away. When we go to the meetings, its never pretty. I end up yelling at my mother and father and we end up fighting," Christina growled.

"Over what? I'm sorry but I just want to know what's happening," I said timidly.

"About me being born. I was never meant to be born and I know its true. But no, Athena and Poseidon try to deny and hide it and say that I was meant to be born. My mother, Athena, was suppose to never marry and I'm guessing she didn't marry my dad but however she did have me. Then I had problems also with Amphitrite, Poseidon's immortal wife. That basically means that he cheated on her and Athena and him fell in love for a little bit. When I was born, my father didn't know what to say to Amphitrite and Amphitrite has _hated_ me ever since I met her. I don't even remember when I met Amphitrite but all I know is that she has tried to curse me over and over and nothing happened because my mom and dad's nature protected me. Also, all I did was cause problems on Olympus because Zeus was mad at Poseidon, his brother and at Athena, his daughter, for having me. Then, Hades found out who is the third eldest brother of Zeus and Poseidon. And he was furious. Really, really outraged."

"Ouch," I said, kind of speechless. She nodded.

"Like I said, I don't remember anything about my past except for the one year of living with Lillian and the two main reasons I ran away with Lillian was because; one, my stepmother and stepfather pretended to like me and Lillian but we knew they didn't so it made it clear that they didn't want us. Two, horrible monsters attacked, putting the family in danger. So we ran away together, thinking it was for the best because the monsters wouldn't attack the family and because our stepparents didn't want us. So there's the story of what I only know of my history," Christina explained. Now at this point, she seemed very controlled about her anger but I knew deep down, at any point, it was about to rupture.

"Oh so how did you make it to camp?" I responded with a cautious voice.

"That's a different story. I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"Ok. So basically you can sleep in Athena's cabin or Poseidon's?"

"Yeah. Athena had lots of kids so it not so bad when I sleep in that cabin. But when I sleep in Poseidon's cabin, its just me. I also have my reasons on why and when I sleep in each cabin because it depends on my mood. Especially when I'm ticked with one or the other."

"I won't ask. When you're ready to tell me, then you can," I said quietly.

I looked over and saw that Landon wasn't looking at us and was busily eating his dinner without looking at Christina. I wondered if he had anything to do with Christina's history and getting to camp.

Campers began getting up and heading towards the amphitheater. It was time for the Sing-A-Long songs and the Apollo cabin from what I had heard, was singing and playing. I got up and followed everybody only to glance back once at Christina who was talking with some of her sisters.

I felt sad that Christina didn't know her past and that it was hard for her and her parents. I always had my mom there for me even though I was a troubled kid and hard to deal with since I had ADHD and dyslexia. Then I suddenly realized that I was mad with Poseidon and Athena for resenting her. I just don't know why I had the urge to be mad with them, but I just seem to be mad with them. It was stupid to be angry but really, my crush being resented by her parents? Now I could see why she said she had a pretty bad history with Athena. I decided that I would think about it later and focus on how the songs and how my first day had been.

I watched as the last of the flames from the bonfire curled into the night sky and as campers trickled out of the amphitheater and back to their cabins for bed. I was thanking the Apollo kids for getting a song stuck in my head when I started heading back to the cabins. Landon had been waiting for me outside the amphitheater and as we walked we discussed some of the weapons I could use and then he told me that he would visit the armory tomorrow to find me a balanced sword, a shield and some armor that would fit. Then we would start battle training. As soon as we reached the cabin, I was completely worn out. I flopped down on my sleeping bag and before I knew it, my eyes were closing and I was out. My first day at camp and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. But in my sleep, dreams threatened to crush me and curse me.


	9. Animal Surprise!

**A/N: Warning, this is a semi-long chapter! This is the first half of Capture the Flag so it's gonna be long. I couldn't shortened it so I just split it. Readers, are in for a surprise but I won't say where in this chapter. You have to read and find out for yourself. It's somewhat long, I know but I think I liked both of the Capture the Flag chapters. :)**

**Logan:**

I woke up the next morning feeling fresh and content but something was bothering me though. To be precise, a dream. In my dream, I had seen Christina, only it was hard to recognize her because she looked like a little kid. She seemed to be running away from something huge in a forest with a girl that looked oddly familiar. Anyways, they were running away from something huge and they looked like they had just woken up, like as if they had just gotten out of bed. I could hear Christina yelling at the girl to run faster. They both began to gain speed but whatever was pursuing them was twice as fast. Then the horrifying thing had appeared right in front of them and tried to grab them. Christina yelled something at the girl and when the huge hand swiped again, they both dived out of the way and the thing roared in anger. Christina and the girl began to taunt the thing and I had sensed something, like the thing was going to attack. Of course in my dream, I had tried to do a stupid thing. I tried to warn them but my voice hadn't worked in the dream. I guess Christina and the girl sensed it too but Christina had sensed it quicker than the other girl. The huge, massive hand swung out of nowhere and grabbed the girl by the neck. The girl screamed and kicked and pummeled the hand but she might've been hitting a pillow.

"Put my sister down you stupid oaf!" Christina had yelled. The thing whirled on her and began closing in. However, Christina closed her eyes, murmuring and trying to focus like she was doing something and then all of a sudden a huge sword-like bolt thingy hit the monster from the sky. The whatever-it-was bellowed in pain and then crumbled like sand being smashed underfoot, dropping the girl. They both stood up shakily, took deep breaths, and then kept on adventuring. Then my dream dissolved. And now I was sure that the other girl in the dream had been Christina's sister, Lillian.

* * *

I went to my first sword lesson and I also did so the following days. I began to notice details like how everyone wore a necklace that had clay beads that they got at the end of each summer for surviving another year. We had golden coins called drachmas with Olympus stamped on one side and a picture of a god on the other. As Tuesday melted into Wednesday and as Wednesday turned into Thursday as quick as a bird spreading its wings, Capture the Flag neared.

I found out that I was actually really good with a balanced sword but I needed to keep my guard up. This was actually something I understood. I practiced and practiced with Landon, went to archery lessons even though I kind of sucked at it and I did all the other activities. Finally, Friday night arrived and all the campers were excited. As from what I had heard over the past few days was that Capture the Flag was the best and greatest activity there was. The Athena cabin had made an alliance with the Ares and Apollo cabins. They also included one girl from the Zeus cabin. Her name was Alethia Aquila. Aquila was Latin for "eagle" which was the symbol of Zeus. The Hermes cabin made an alliance with the other cabins. The teams were uneven but Landon told me they couldn't be dramatically uneven.

_Good enough for me_, I thought.

"Are the flags always made by the Athena cabin?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not always. We switch out," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh."

Just then, Christina walked over in full battle gear carrying her sword that she had used earlier in the arena and when she was fighting the hellhounds. Under her other arm she had her helmet which had a red plume meaning my helmet was going to be a blue plume one.

"You ready?" she asked.

"No," I answered urgently. Christina chuckled and said, "Don't worry. You'll do fine. But we'll win."

"Uh-huh. We'll see about that," piped in Landon.

"Pretty good challenge, but I'll steal that flag right out from underneath your nose."

"Yeah right."

"Ha-ha," I laughed. "You just got burned by Landon."

"Don't you wish. And I wouldn't be the one to talk, Logan," she joked. I was silent, trying to think of something smart to say. But I didn't have any luck. Zeus Almighty, she was good.

"Anyways, have you assigned him his place yet?"

"Nah. Soon though," Landon replied. I began to strap up my armor but I realized that I was having a hard time because I was beginning to become nervous as the time neared for us to start the game. Christina looked over and saw me trying to fix up my armor. She smiled and helped me, strapping it correctly on and fixing the straps until they were adjusted properly and were a perfect fit.

"Thanks, Christina," I blushed. I hope that she didn't see me blushing because if she did, knowing how pretty darn smart she was, she would know that I liked her. And this time, my luck held out.

"No problem. Well I've got to go and give the places that they'll be assigned at."

"Ok."

"Remember. I may be nice now, but I'll be vicious in the game so you better watch out and I'll win."

I pretended to act scared. "Ohhhh. I'm so scared."

"You should be especially when my team attacks," she said mischieviously.

I snorted.

"Like Landon said, we will win."

"Mmmm. You guys keep believing in that," she answered. She waved at us and went back to her teammates, assigning them their jobs.

"What's my job?" I asked Landon.

"Well, you're going to get a really important job," he said, smiling maliciously.

"I don't suppose its guarding the flag. As much as important as that job is, you're making it sound like its going to be a bigger and more important job."

"It is. You're going to come with me, and help capture the red teams flag," he answered.

"What? Are you serious? Me, help you capture their flag?" I said, astonished.

"Yup!"

"Ok. So how are we going to Capture the Flag?" Landon gave me another malicious smile. "Just follow me, ok?"

"Sure thing Landon," I answered grinning like crazy.

Just then, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor and everybody turned their heads in silence.

"Heroes. You know all the rules. The creek is the boundary line and the forest has to be fair game, or else," he said shaking his finger at a few Hermes kids. All magical items are allowed in the game and the banner must be placed visually into view and you are permitted to have only two guards, no more than that. Prisoners may be disarmed however, they may not be bound or gagged. Understand? Because we've had some incidents with not following that rule. Also, there is no maiming and most importantly, no killing. I will serve as the battlefield referee and medic. We will give you time to set the flag before we blow the conch horn. Good hunting everyone!"

Then Landon shouted at the red team, "We call South Woods!"

Then he took off with me and his team into the warm night while the red team yelled and shouted taunts at us. We reached a pile of rocks which was called Zeus' Fist and set the flag there at the top. We assigned two guards just like Chiron said and then our team waited while the red team got ready in the North Woods.

"So who usually leads the teams?" I asked Landon.

"Christina. If she's the opponent, then she usually leads that team. If she is an alliance, she still leads the team. Everybody respects her because she is the best fighter here, best runner, best archer and all that other stuff."

"So I've heard," I answered as the conch horn sounded in the distance.

We ran forward and as we neared the creek, we could hear the red team yelling and pounding their way through their forest. As soon as we were near the creek, I saw them burst out of the trees and bushes and slamming into our team. Christina, just like Landon had said, was leading them. She came flipping off a rock and at the same time, slamming into a blue warrior. Several blue warriors lashed out at her but she defeated them quickly. I followed Landon and we ducked swords, dodged campers until we were out of the fight.

"I think we're good for now," Landon panted. "Just remember keep your eyes open at all times and don't get killed. Not literally," he added because I shot him a worried look.

But Christina had a little surprise for us. Some enemies attacked us and I thought Landon was a goner facing most of them. As soon as Landon used his foot to knock down the warrior in front, the one behind took Landon's helmet off which made him mad. Landon turned around and slammed him down hard. One guy came and I slipped and fell on my back, having to roll because the guy slashed down. He was going to strike but he was way too close to a tree so when he swung, his sword got stuck.

"Ha!" I exclaimed as I kicked him, still on my back. I got up and started running, hearing Landon following me.

"Whoa! I'm coming buddy! I'm coming! These are the sons of Apollo! Bows and arrows are just as dangerous as they are!" Just after he had finished his sentence, a camper jumped from off a medium size rock in front of us, flipping twice and landing on his feet while he thrust out his sword.

Landon pulled me back in time saying, "Holy Zeus, that's a sword! That's a sword!"

At the same time, a camper came down from out of the trees behind us and then two more did on our left and right.

"Whoa, you guys take camp _way_ to seriously," I said, flipping my sword in my hand and looking around.

The four campers snickered. The one on the right said, "Did you think you were going to go after our precious flag so easily?"

"Hmmm. Let me think. Yeah, because you guys are just plain out idiots!" Landon said.

"Speaking of idiots," said the same guy. He looked at me and just sneered. "This one is just as much as an idiot as you blue teammates are."

"Got proof over that, thick head?" I snarled.

_Nice comeback Logan_, my brain thought.

_Shut up. I'm about to get sliced to pieces so come up with battle moves,_ I told it.

"Better watch your mouth or I'll skewer you," said the one in front of us.

"Make me. And I'd like to see you try with Landon here."

"Ohhhh. Your _sooo_ asking for it." We stood there for a moment, me and Landon back to back. There was another moment of silence.

"GO!" Landon yelled suddenly.

He deflected the guy who was in the front sword and the deflect was so powerful, it made him stagger back giving Landon enough time to hit the guy behind me. The one on the right came running and I ducked in time just as he shaved part of my blue plume off. I stood up quickly and with my sword took a swipe at the same guy. He jumped back and when he attacked, I was doomed because just at the same moment the guy on the left attacked me too. I couldn't defend both of them at once. I had barely learned that in sword classes. Thankfully, Landon intercepted him and they began to fight. When the same guy who was on the right attacked ferociously, I was thinking about just fighting him when a strange image popped in my head. I don't know why it had but it was a quick image of Christina when she was at the arena and had met one of the Ares' kids sword swipe and then quickly yanked downward and swept that kid off his feet. I thought about using that move until I realized that that was a move I hadn't learned.

Then I thought, _What the heck? This warrior is going to eventually outmaneuver me._ So I tried the technique. The camper swung. My blade met his. I was held in a standstill. Then like Christina, I yanked down and swept him off his feet.

"Nice one. Where'd you learn that?" said Landon. He had just finished off the other warrior leaving the camper whining in pain.

"It was one of Christina's moves that she had used when she was fighting the Ares cabin in the arena the first day i was here. But I haven't even learned. Guess it came naturally."

"Figures. She's the best with those kind of techniques and she's the best with coming up with new ones for everyone so we can improve. Now let's go and get that flag."

We began sprinting through enemy territory and by the time we reached the flag, we were panting like dogs.

"Mmmm. No kidding. Now what?"

"Get down!" hissed Landon. "The guards may see us and we'll lose our chance!"

"Oh, sorry." We peered over the bushes but the guards didn't notice us. Then out of the blue, they left the post and charged toward us. I figured we were dead and had been spotted since they were running right our way. But instead they passed us by.

"Weird. Guards should never leave their posts because that gives the enemy a quick and easy chance to steal the flag. I'm mean its like, hello? It's like their thinking, 'lets leave the flag because we're so stupid and let the enemy team take it! Hooray!'" Landon said. "But since our enemies is the Athena cabin, then there is some kind of trick that's going to be played. And Athena being the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy…you'll have to be really careful."

"Right. Well, why don't we just go up there and swipe the flag quickly and run?" I reasoned.

"Because I sense a trap that's going to be sprung," he answered grimly.

"Well I don't care. If you don't mind, I'm just going to go up there and snatch the flag."

"Fine Logan. But if a trap is sprung, don't say I didn't warn ya," he sighed. I looked at him and moved out of the bushes. As I neared the flag, I didn't hear anybody except for the fighting in the distance. I touched the silk gray flag with a barn owl painted in the middle and was about to ripped it down and run when a snarl sounded behind me. A sleek black panther was there, its lips drawn back revealing gleaming white fangs and its tail was lashing back and forth. I thought it was some kind of joke and was the reason why the guards left or it was here guarding. At that same moment, Landon came out of the bushes his eyes bulging.

"I thought the forest was only full of monsters and not just any ordinary animals!" he said astonished. The black panther growled and Landon took a swipe at it. It retreated quickly behind a tree. I looked at Landon and was about to rip the flag down when Christina emerged from behind that same tree.

"Rip that flag down and I will kill you. If you think you'll be able to take the flag and run, you're wrong," she said, smiling coldly.

"Logan, get back. I'll fight her myself. You're not trained enough to fight someone like her," Landon answered still keeping his eyes trained on Christina.

"Defending him are you? I be surprised if you can beat me. But the doubts of that are very high."

"We'll see about that." Landon was about to attack when we heard whoops and yells. Some of the red and our team, the blues, came streaming out of the trees and surrounded us in seconds. I was guessing that the other part of the red was attacking the blues who were defending our flag. And I was guessing the red team around us now was the trap and the my team members had chased them down until this point.

"I better not be fighting all of the enemy campers," Landon growled at Christina.

"No. It's going to be a one on one challenge and you, Landon, are going to lose."

"Yeah right."

He charged Christina and tried to make a head swipe. She ducked and Landon chuckled. Holding out his hands on either side as if welcoming her, he said, "I hope you're going to lose because if you do, that means I win and you've lost for the first time in all the years you've been here playing Capture the Flag every Friday night."

Christina growled and she slashed her sword downward across the palm of his hand and he backed up quick but not quick enough before she slashed her sword again across his cheek.

"Ow! No maiming," he manage to say. She smiled a cold one, an evil glint shining in her eyes.

Landon eyes reduced to slits and he swung his sword. She deflected it off the side of her sword and pushed downward but not hard enough. She backed up against the tree so when he swung, she jumped up high and his sword got stuck pretty hard. She landed on it chuckling. I was surprised at that move but what surprised me even more was how the sword was even holding her weight. He yanked out and she jumped off. He turned around fast, bringing his sword with him and he stabbed forward, as if trying to stab her face. As fast as thought, she grabbed his hilt also and bent back, as the blade passed over her head and came back. We both gawked at her but Landon swung again and her arm went downward so her blade was facing the dirt and deflected his strike again.

"Out of practice much?" she smirked.

"Ohhhh. You haven't seen what's yet to come," he admitted. This time he feinted his sword to another head-cut and Christina ducked but he quickly changed course and went for her legs, trying to knock her off balance but she jumped.

"Oh you want to play hard do you now?" she questioned him. "Then lets see if you're any match for my skills." With that she swung her shield onto her back and leaped up the nearest tree, clinging from the hole in the tree.

"Come catch me if you can," she taunted. She began leaping from limb to limb, tree to tree with amazing speed and Landon followed her, copying the same thing. At one point he managed to catch up but she tried to slash him and he ducked. She snarled and leap to the next tree. Then I realized something, we were nearing the creek and nobody had even grabbed the flag because they were too interested in the fight. We all emerged as she leaped into the tree nearest to the river and started climbing up, swinging and jumping from branch to branch like a monkey and a leopard. She reached a strong branch that was hanging slightly over the river and that's when Landon arrived behind her on the same branch, thinking he had trapped her.

"You're trapped. Nowhere else to go, huh?" he said, grinning.

"Oh I'm not trapped, you're the one who made it easier for me," she replied.

"What exactly do you mean? We're suspended right over the river basically and I'm blocking the entrance from you leaving!" he said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, but have you forgotten who my father is?" she asked quietly. The thought struck him and his faced turned red.

"No. No. NO! That's not fair! Shit!" he yelled. He swiped at her chest but she turned and his blade slammed against the shield on her back. Christina was really smart about putting that on her back.

"See ya. Have fun trying to find me," she chuckled. She flipped her sword and it turned into a golden gleaming key and she pulled out a necklace that had Greek words across it. As soon as she had put it around her neck, she jumped from the tree and cannon balled towards the river. As she fell she turned invisible and landed with a splash. Landon cursed and then grabbed a bow and arrow out of nowhere. He notched the arrow and prepared for any sudden movement. Then I saw Christina, swimming in the river. Well I didn't actually see her, I saw like the outline of her swimming in the water sort-of. Kind of like I can see her and can't really see her.

After swimming about fifteen yards upstream, she appeared next to a bush, her necklace disappearing. What happened to her next made me think I was hallucinating again. But I wasn't. Because when she appeared, she changed into a glossy-furred Bengal tiger.

**A/N:  
:O :O :O :O  
Yep! She's a shapechanger and the only one! :) Surprised much?  
Part two of Capture the Flag is the next chapter. Enjoy it. It may be long but if you really wanna know who Logan is the son of, deal with the chapter being long probably. If not, don't read it then. :) Readers, enjoy.**


	10. I Get a 'godfather' and My Crush Sorta

**Logan:**

She stalked towards the river and Landon was still on the branch moving his notched arrow back and forth along the river. Christina decided to change her mind and then she turned around to the nearest bush and shook it slightly with her huge front paws. Landon heard the sound and was about to whirl around when Christina slunk to the river quickly and used her tail to swipe water downstream and making it make a loud splash. He rapidly turned and shot his arrow. It landed on the ground and he knew that he hadn't hit anything obviously. He jumped from the tree and moved toward the sound where the water hit. As he got closer I could see Christina moving behind him in the trees, still in tiger form. Finally she emerged into the moonlight, let out a loud earsplitting yowl and leaped at him bowling him over from behind.

"Accccck!" he screeched. He rolled over and I was thinking Christina was a goner when she slipped to the side just in time. Landon jumped up and was about to reach for an arrow when he realized that Christina had knocked the quiver off his back and the bow out of his hands. He grabbed his fallen sword and swiped. She dodged it.

"This isn't fair Christina!" he wailed. "Turning into a tiger! This isn't fair!" He was about to take another swipe when she reared up on her hind legs, batting and swiping at him. Then Landon's faced turned red again and swiped the second time only at her chest. Christina used her claws, which were an four inches long, and deflected the blade (yes I know, those are some long claws but its true, a tigers claw is four to five inches long). Landon looked at the tiger in front of him with surprise and backed up quickly.

"What the?" he said. Christina growled and she came charging, her claws glinting in the moonlight and she leaped right up and over him and into a low hanging tree branch, with so much leaves it covered her. A quick millisecond later she jumped out in human and Landon turned around rapidly and she slammed him down with her shield.

"No!" I yelled. I ran up behind her and was about to swing my sword downwards when she grabbed both my hands from behind and swung me up and over her, so that I came flying down onto the stones right flat on my back. I yelped and when I did, my voice was an octave higher. I got up groaning. Some of the older campers were looking at Christina in awe.

"Dang. Can you hurt me anymore?" I questioned.

"Logan, don't fight her," groaned Landon. "She'll defeat you easily."

"Do not try to defend him again Landon," growled Christina. "If he wants to fight me, let him. Let him show what he's got. It'll at least prove something." The other campers standing around murmured in agreement. Some of them were cracking smiles like they knew I was going to get my butt kicked and as if they had been in my shoes before. I locked eyes with her. She had a cold glare in her gray eyes. Wait. Gray eyes? I thought she had sea-green eyes. I looked at her hair. It was honey blond and not black with brown streaks. But I couldn't focus on that now. I had to fight her.

"Its ok Landon," I replied. I feigned a strike to the leg so that she would jump and was about to hit her rib cage with the flat of my blade when she saw what was happening and met my blade. I backed up and swung towards her and she deflected. I struck sideways and again and she used the same move she had used on Landon which was swinging it around so it was facing the dirt. She turned which made her close to me and with her right shoulder, bumped me back hard.

"Whoa!" I yelled instinctively because I was not expecting that. She swung her other arm around and I backed up so I won't get punched all the way across the stomach but had to duck because she sent her sword whirling in a head-cut motion. I went back a few paces and she smirked.

"Congratulations. You've just survived a minute of fighting me."

A few kids chuckled.

I swung my blade up and she met me, and thank the gods I had a gear on because she then kneed me in the stomach. Then she used her sword and kept going one way. Meaning she would swing her sword from her other shoulder out towards my stomach and I would have to keep deflecting it. On the third time she did this, I jumped back and swung my blade down sideways with her sword and she yanked out. She struck and I tried to deflect it by putting it on my forearm since that was were her sword was heading but that was a bad mistake because the next thing I knew she pulled down on my blade and cut me.

"Ahh!" I yelped. I had been meaning to say 'ow' but I guess it came out as 'ahh!' instead.

She then brought her blade and swept it at my upper right leg and I fell to one knee.

"Stand up and fight…hero," she smirked.

I stood up and tried a head-cut of my own but it was a terrible one. She leaned back, struck my hand leaving a nice-size cut and then ducked side ways and swiped the back of my leg so that I feel to both my knees. She got behind me and pushed me down with her foot. I landed on the stones which wasn't a comfortable landing.

"_Go to the water, Logan. It'll heal you and give you strength,"_ said a man's voice in my head. I jumped, wondering who was talking to me but I didn't matter. If I wanted to stay conscious, I needed to do as I was told. Even if it was a weird, unknown voice in my head.

Out the corner of my eye, I saw Christina look back and watch me as I began to claw myself towards the river. I stuck my hand in the water and could feel the cut on my hand closing up and all the other cuts closing. I began to feel stronger and my senses opened up. I got up and looked at Christina and saw her eyes were wide. There were some Ares and Apollo kids behind her and an Ares kid ran towards me and I knew what to do. Our blades clashed so hard that I had time to use my elbow and hit him in the helmet. He fell just as a second warrior came. This time it was an Apollo kid. He swung and I went the same way his blade was going only forcing it to go faster. I used my elbow just like Christina had and struck in between his neck and shoulder. Another Apollo kid ran towards me, obviously wanted to avenge the fact that I had knocked down his brother. But he didn't have time to swing his sword because I knocked hard off his feet so he went flipping, landing on he shoulder. As I ran forward, a kid named Dominick Martin who was a son of Ares came forward.

"Ahhhh!" he screamed. He swung out and I decided to knock he sword farther out and so I did and the impact was so hard that he tripped. Everybody looked at one another in surprise.

Then a kid came forward and we met blades and I got behind him, using my own shoulder to push him down. I was using some of the techniques Christina had used when fighting the Ares kids in the arena. I don't know how it happened but it felt good.

I came forward and swung my blade just as Christina came forward so that it was a foot away from her chest. She stopped and looked down at the sword and then looked me in the eyes, studying me. Everybody was watching silently and then she used a quick move. Christina swung her blade around and battered my sword away from her chest. I ducked out of the way as she brought her sword down diagonally as if she was going to slice my face. She then went sideways with her sword in a full circle just as I stood up and when I struck downwards, her sword came up and met mine. But she brought her blade up and then straight down and I had to yank my sword out fast.

"Ahhh!" I yelled.

I quickly brought sword up and we clashed but we hit so hard that they both went down the other way. She brought it back fast the same way and so did I. As soon as the swords met, I used my other arm and tried to knock her arm that was holding the sword. I managed to move her arm somewhat at the same time I was moving my sword. I tried to use the butt of my sword and hit her in between the shoulder and neck but her free hand came out of nowhere and stopped me. Christina then did her favorite move which was the head-cut. I ducked quickly and tried to swipe at her but she parried away my blade, swung the shield off her back and slammed me in the chest. I hit the dirt hard right next to Landon who was now getting up.

"Oh, so now you're going to fight me Landon?" Christina said.

"Yep. You're probably tired so maybe I can beat you now," he replied. He swiped at her chest and she jumped back right into the river. I knew automatically that the river was going to give her strength like it had to me. They began fighting and after a few minutes, Landon tired out for some reason. I guess it was because she was pressing him with so much force. He made a head-cut and she crouched down and as soon as she stood up, their blades met and she used both hands and yanked out of his grasp and spun around and stuck his own blade behind his neck and her own blade and inch from his chest. There was some silence. Some people were murmuring about how that was one of the best moves for taking down someone.

"I won this battle," she said.

Landon gasped for breath and managed to say, "That wasn't fair. You turned into an animal earlier. I keep forgetting that you can but its still not fair. You attacked indirectly and not in human form."

"Who said anything about changing into an animal? I didn't hear in the rules, 'shape changing is not allowed.' And besides, I'm not in animal form am I anymore?"

Before Landon could reply there were whoops and yells on both sides of the creek. Then we saw the red team running with the Hermes flag towards the creek while some allies covered the retreat as the blue team tried to get to the flag. The person who had our flag, was Alethia. Her helmet was gone, obviously knock off. Christina smirked, her arms crossed. It was pretty obvious that her and Alethia were really close and that they depended on one another and that Christina knew she was going to follow through. On our side of the creek, the blue team had the red teams flag and same thing was happening only opposite. The person who was leading it was Jasper Weaver and his twin brother, Casper, recovering his retreat with some other blue allies. Everybody around the creek watched in amazement as both teams with both flags crossed the creek at the same time. Both sides exploded into celebration and then realized that the opponent team was celebrating.

"Wait a second. Why are you celebrating!" yelled a red enemy to one of my teammates.

"Because we got your flag!" he shouted back.

"Well we got your flag and crossed the creek first!" the red enemy shouted.

"HEROES!" thundered Chiron. "It is a tie between both teams! Both teams got the flag and crossed the creek at the same time! This is the first time that we've ever had a tie! So instead of fighting, lets celebrate both teams getting the flag and this being the first time for a tie!" There was agreement between both teams and then they all got together like one big happy family and started walking out of the forest and to the amphitheater, cheering and patting one another on the back. I caught up with Christina who was talking to Landon.

"Hey," I said. "Awesome fighting."

"I told you I would win. And I also told you that I may be nice then but in the game, I'd be vicious."

"Yeah, you said it all right. So, why did you tell me that I was hallucinating when you turned from that black panther into human?"

"Because if I did, that would've ruined my plan and then Landon would be keeping an eye out for any regular animal," she responded matter-of-factly. Landon snorted.

"Right. So, um, you're not going to be vicious anymore are you?" I asked nervously. She laughed and said, "Nah. You don't have to worry about me turning into an animal anymore.

"Good. You know you could've killed me, Landon or anyone out there with the way you were fighting," I said. Landon had moved ahead of us and began talking with other kids. After a minute of silence she answered.

"No. Were not allowed to kill anyone in the game."

"Oh. Right. But I mean, the way you were fighting could've done some damage and send someone to the infirmary who could, like, die of injury a few days later or something like that."

"Ohhhh you haven't seen me fight. And I highly doubt that would happen to someone here especially since we are here to train and fight monsters, not battle one another to death."

"Not exactly reassured," I suggested. She just looked at me and rolled her eyes but there was a small smile.

"Hey, I have a question," I said.

"Hmmm," she answered.

"Why was your eyes gray and your hair blond when I was fighting you?" I asked. Her hair color and her eye color had changed back; black hair with brown streaks and sea-green eyes.

"Because my mother Athena, the children all have honey blond hair and stormy gray eyes. And Poseidon, it's the sea-green eyes and the black hair. Since I'm a mix, my hair color changes whenever."

"Oh. Makes sense." Me and Christina walked in silence. When we had finally reached the amphitheater, Christina still hadn't talked and I hadn't come up with something to say. Once everyone was inside the amphitheater, the celebration automatically began. Campers ate and drank water and other kinds of drinks. Wood nymphs prepared and brought food and people talked. We were all having a great time until something went wrong. The fire that was in the middle of the amphitheater, exploded. It hurled medium pot size balls of fire all over the place. Campers and wood nymphs began screaming.

"Get out of the amphitheater!" I yelled. I could see that the Apollo cabin and Christina were trying to get campers out of the amphitheater quickly. _We need water_, I thought. I watched as campers ran from the amphitheater. I grabbed one camper who had fallen, picked him up and handed him to one of the buff Ares kids who where helping on picking people up who had fallen.

I was wishing that the naiads would bring water. I was so focused on wishing we had water that I felt a painful tug in my gut. Then all of a sudden one of the small creeks nearby that branched from the canoe lake exploded and water came rushing in. The water neared me, passing campers as if they were huge stones in a river, and beginning churning behind me and not going any farther ahead of me. I then realized that I was controlling the water. I was freaking out but my mind was more focused on putting the fire out.

I raised my hands and the water behind me responded, raising up into a wall of water. I shoved forward and the water rushed on either side of me, dousing all the small flames and dousing the biggest flame. Then the pain in my gut shut off and most of the water retreated, sloshing back towards the creek it came from and leaving evidence of little puddles here and there. Another thing I realized, I wasn't even wet, not even a drop of water on my clothers but everybody else was except for Christina of course. Being the child of Poseidon I suppose means you can't get wet unless you want to. I also noticed nobody had been swept away from the water.

"What. The. _Hell_?" I exclaimed, freaking out. I was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Logan? What did you just do?" snarled Christina angrily.

"I don't know what just happened. Honestly," I replied shakily.

Then everybody suddenly gasped. They were looking up above my head and I looked up. Above my head was a spiraling, glowing green trident; just floating over my head. I didn't need to ask what was happening because Christina had explained it when we were doing the Climbing Wall (which caused me to fall almost because I didn't focus on climbing, more on listening to her). It meant I was claimed.

The trident began to fade away until it was gone and then people looked at me and than slowly to Christina. When I looked at Christina, she had a look of outrage. And I understood why. If she was the daughter of Poseidon, and the trident only belongs to Poseidon, and I was just claimed by him, that meant she was my sister. I had gotten my 'godfather' and my crush finally in a nasty way that I didn't expect. Then Chiron spoke.

"Logan Moore has been claimed!" he announced.

"Great. Now I'm stuck with Christina," I said kind of quietly.

Chiron continued though he gave me a pointed look that said 'shut up for now'.

"All hail Logan Moore, son of Poseidon, Lord of the Seas and Creater of Horses!"

Campers began to kneel, bowing their heads in respect. I didn't it was possible for horses to kneel but Chiron folded his front legs; a horse's gesture of bowing. But Christina didn't.

She was staring at me with outraged. Then she looked at the sky and muttered a nasty curse. It thundered loudly. Campers were staring at Christina. I guess she cursed the gods a bunch but whatever she said, some campers were cowering in fear from her.

Instead of saying something, this time I blushed red and when I looked at Christina, I blushed even more red and she smirked. And I knew that she now had figured out I liked her and that I was her brother which made it nasty that I had liked my own sister without even knowing it.

"All right everybody!" Chiron shouted. "To bed! It's eleven, an hour past your bedtime. Move it now unless you want to be eaten by the harpies!"

Campers began leaving for their cabins. The ones that were wounded were rushed off the infirmary for medic care. Every single time a camper was going to pass next to me, he or she would look at me cautiously and then go far around me as they could as if expecting me to hurl water at their faces. Chiron and Christina stayed behind.

Chiron clip-clopped up to me and said with a grim face, "You will automatically move into the Poseidon cabin with Christina _right now_. Christina, will you show him the cabin and help him feel at home? And also, you will be teaching him for training." Christina looked at Chiron and glared, giving him the Evil Eyes she gave me a million times a day.

"Whatever," she said harshly. Then she added to me, "Come on idiot."

"That's nice to hear from you," I snapped. A snarl began to form at her lips and I backed away a bit in fear.

We walked toward the cabins in complete silence. Christina made sure she stayed ahead of me and I could tell if I tried to talk to her, she would either turn into an animal and rip me to pieces or she would just grab her sword, kill me and act as though nothing had happened tonight. Or as if something did but she would pretend to not know about it. I could also feel the tension crackling between us. It was as much as a shock to her as it was to me that we were brother and sister.

Finally we reached the cabin and she showed told me that I got the bottom bunk and she had the top bunk. She also told me that she'd explain some 'rules' that went with this cabin in the morning, or when she felt like it. That didn't reassure me. She was probably going to make some up while she slept or she was just saying that to scare me. Anyways, she climb up to the top bunk and fell asleep immediately. So much for her making me feel at home in this cabin. Finally, I fell into deep slumber, still in major shock.

**A/N:** **Holy Zeus! He's the son of Poseidon! No way! :) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review and subscribe please! XD**


	11. A Cousin is Taken

**Christina:**

I guess you could imagine how I felt when I woke up in the morning. Imagine you have just been having the time of your life and then the next moment later, someone tells you horrible news and you go to bed with it hanging over your head. Then when you wake up, you wish you had done something to prevent it or you wish you could forget about it. You wouldn't even come close to what I was feeling. And there was only one word to explain it. Hatred…and anger. Ok I lied. Actually two words.

Anyways, I hated the fact that I had a brother. I was angry twice as much with Poseidon for sending me a brother. I hated the fact that I had to train with him. I hated the other fact that I might have to explain a whole bunch of other things. That he would be on my team sometimes in Capture the Flag. That we would eat at the same table sometimes. That we will share the same cabin…sometimes. What I hated the most was that he had _liked_ me! GROSS! And I hated that I even had to put up with him.

I looked at Logan who was still crashed out on the bottom bunk. I watched his side rise and fall. I looked at his face and saw smaller details. Like that small scar on his cheek bone. You could see it only if you looked real close. I stared at him. I stared. And stared. I stared some more. I…why was I even _looking_ at him! I looked at my watch silver watch that I always kept with me and realized that I had woken up later than usual. Normal time: 7:00 or 7:15. Current time: 7:45. Time to get him up.

I walked over to the side of the room and threw open the curtains, letting the warm sunlight come flooding in. I walked back over hoping somewhat that the sunlight would've woken him up immediately. No such luck. I sighed. I decided to get dressed quickly before anything else happened. I was also hoping the sunlight that was bathing his face for after I had thrown open the curtains, now would wake him up. After I was finish getting dress, he was still snoring away.

"All right Sleeping Beauty. Get the Hades outta bed. Wake up!" I said, shaking Logan hard on the shoulder.

"AHHHHH!" he screamed and fell out of bed hitting the ground hard. I waited. Few seconds later. Annnnnd…it never came. The only sound was him snoring half awake and half asleep. Another few seconds later….."OWWWWW!" he yelled and sat bolt upright on the floor.

"Late reaction," I told him chuckling.

He rubbed his head and let his head fall back. Instead of it bumping on the mattress, he hit his head on the bed rail (not the type to keep you from falling out of bed. The one that is on the side to keep the mattress from sliding off).

"HOLY CRAP! OWWWWW!" he yelled.

"FAIL!" I yelled back. He sat up again and rubbed his head and his back. I guess he had hit his head and back when he fallen out of bed. As he sat on the floor rubbing his now-gonna-be-sore parts I said, "I guess this is your casual way of getting up, isn't it? I'll have to get use to it if you're going to do it everyday."

"It's not funny! That freaking hurt!"

"Your fault, your problem."

"Shut up!" he growled.

"Make me."

"I will."

"Like to see you try."

He was silent.

"That's what I thought."

"Oh, shut up now Christina. I hit my head twice and my back once. Really? You've got to be this mean and you just _had_ to wake me up," he said wincing as he tried to get up.

"Deal with the pain. You'll experience worse eventually. And yes I had to wake you up. Breakfast is at 8:00 so if you want breakfast, get up, shut up, and lets go."

"Ok. Fine. Let me get dressed first because I am _not _going out their in gym shorts and a Camp Half-Blood workout shirt! But I'm telling you. If you were feeling what I am feeling, you'd be complaining too."

"Logan. I have experienced pain worse than you probably have. Just shut up like I said and quit complaining!" He grumbled something about his back and began to get dressed into a spare pair of shorts and a fresh orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt.

When he was done, he followed my reluctantly, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Off to our right, campers with their cabins were coming out and joining other campers. Off to our left, some campers were picking their way to the Mess Hall. We followed the other cabins and I realized some of them were stealing glances at us of uncertainty. I went up to one kid and talked to him for a bit and some of the kids that had been giving me glances and looks, stopped. Logan tried to talk with one kid and he said, "I don't want to know you. You'll probably end up drowning me or something." Logan argued with him and said, "What about Christina? She could drown you with her water powers."

"I trust Christina with my life," he said. "You'll probably do something crazy right now because you can't control yourself unlike Christina."

"Oh sure. Be that way. I barely even know you much less my powers!"

"Yeah right," the kid disputed. "Like last night?" and stormed away.

"He's got a point you know," I told Logan.

"Not you too!" Logan shot back.

"Be moody. I think its cause you hit your head. Bye."

I walked ahead until I had reached the Mess Hall. I was about to head for the Athena cabin when I caught Chiron's eye. He shook his head, pointed at me, at Logan, and pointed at the Poseidon table thrusting his two finger downward, making the clear sign to sit down. I looked at him disappointingly and glared. Logan came over and sat down. I looked at Chiron. He made the sit down sign and I didn't move. He crossed his arms, tapping his fingers on one of his forearms. Then he glared at me, giving me the perfect ten and made the sign again. I didn't move. He raised his eyebrows and began to trot over. He made a motion of picking me up and dumping me in the seat. I stayed where I was. He sighed and began to trot faster. He got within 10 feet of me and I sat down quickly, trying to out glare or well, glare him down.

He stayed where he was and I gave him the perfect 20 glare (I don't think there such thing as that but I don't care). He nodded and made another motion. The I-got-my-eyes-on-you motion. Rolling my eyes, I loaded my plate and took it over to the fire to scrape in as an offering and saying Athena and Poseidon. Logan followed my lead a few seconds later but saying Poseidon of course.

I scarfed my breakfast down and headed to find Alethia. I found that she had finished breakfast just as quick and was now heading towards the beach. I caught up to her and we began to talk. She asked if I liked my new brother but in a timid way, knowing I was in a bad mood since she knew me so well to read my expressions. I said I guess I did but she knew I was lying and told me to tell the truth and I confessed.

"Not really. I didn't _want_ a brother. I mean, yeah its all cool and everything that I have brothers and sisters from the Athena cabin but I _know_ Logan from school and I can't stand the thought that he was claimed openly by Poseidon and now he is my brother. Its really, REALLY disturbing," I answered.

"Mmmm. Well, I'm sure you'll get use to it. I know it may be hard because you don't feel any support from your mom and dad. Not to mention, I can agree with you. I wouldn't be able to stand it if my dad just randomly claimed a boy or a girl and they became my brother or sister. No heads up. No dream or 'hey, you have a brother or a sister. So be prepared,' type of thing."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," I said as we watched the waves roll in on the beach. Moments later, our silence was broken by the sound of the conch horn.

"We better go. We won't be having the same activities as you today," she said. I nodded in agreement as she hugged me like I was her sister.

"I hope you don't let your brother situation bother you too much either," she added in my ear before leaving with a goodbye wave.

"I'll try not to let it," I muttered, even after she left. Little did I know that that was the last time I was going to see her at camp because I wasn't going to see her for awhile.

* * *

By the time lunch had rolled around, I was fuming with Logan. Him and his questions while we were fighting. Like: _Where did I learn to fight better than anyone at this camp?_ I answered, "Nowhere in particular. It just comes naturally I guess." _What kind of monsters have I faced?_ I named a few. _Have I ever gone a quest before?_ That one I didn't answer but the truth was, I had. Logan had more questions and they were all disturbing. Some of them were: _How old was I when I ran away with Lillian?_ He seemed kind of disturbed also when he asked that question and I had a suspicion that he knew something. _How long have I been at camp?_ _Have I ever visited the Underworld?_ I looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Oh, never mind." was his answer. _Have Athena or Poseidon ever come close to blasting me to a million pieces?_ That one I tried not to strangle him. _Why don't I remember anything before the one year I had been living with Lillian and since I don't, does that mean I don't know where I was born?_ I fought the urge to stab him. And the last one that he asked was a very disturbing question. _If I do go to Olympus again, will my parents and I fight twice as much and will the fight be worse since he would be there?_ I told him if he asked that question again I would knock him out hard. That pretty much ended the so-called conversation. As we were eating at the Poseidon table, Logan asked me about something that got my attention.

"Are demigod dreams regular like a mortals or do they have something to do with other stuff and are they important?"

"Demigod dreams are important. They help us glance something at our friend's or our past, future, present or even what are enemies are doing. And depending on how bad a situation is if the demigod is in one, the more vivid the dreams are and the more scarier," I said. "Why?"

"Oh. Well because I had a dream that I don't understand why it was shown to me," he said nervously.

"What was it?" I questioned. He looked at me worriedly and answered, "I hope you don't get mad."

"I'll try not to."

"Well, I had the dream Monday night. I dreamed about you and Lillian in a forest and you guys looked liked little kids."

"I knew you knew something that I hadn't told you," I said.

"What?" Logan replied surprisingly.

"Yeah, I knew you did. Something that I hadn't even mentioned to you and was going to at some point. Anyways, carry on."

"Ok. So, you guys looked liked you had gotten out of bed and were running away from something. Something huge. You told Lillian to run faster and then the thing that was chasing you appeared in front of you and tried to grab you but you and Lillian separated by diving out of the way. You both taunted it and then you guys sensed something but you for some reason sensed it quicker and the thing grabbed Lillian by the neck. She kicked and hit it and you yelled at it to put her down." Logan took a deep breath and continued, trying hard not to crack up.

"Your exact words were, 'Put her down you stupid oaf!' Then it was about to attack you and you closed your eyes, and began murmuring something like you were focusing and then out of nowhere, something like a huge sword-like bolt thingy hit the monster from the sky. And then whatever was pursuing you disappeared into sand dropping your sister. Then you guys just ventured on deeper into the forest. I'm sorry I kept it from you but I didn't want to tell you because it seemed kind of disturbing," he finished. I closed my eyes, remembering that horrible night.

"That night was a bad night. It was the same night me and Lillian had decided to leave. And I didn't tell you another reason why we left that night. Me and Lillian were deciding partly to leave two nights later but that night we both snuck downstairs and were sitting out on the back porch secretly talking. We decided to go to bed and we got inside when we the monster attacked. We panicked and turned around, running back outside. We decided right then and there together as we ran through the backyard that it would be best if we left two days earlier. So we ran across the street that was behind our house, through a couple of neighbor's yards across a soccer field and into the forest. And just as we suspected, the monster pursued. We led it from our house saving the court but endangering us in the forest," I said. "So yeah. Then we fought it and that's about it. I remember that night as if it were last night. It seems so vivid and recent."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I know its none of my business but I figured since you were in the dream, you'd be the best person to talk to and I don't feel comfortable talking about it to Lillian," Logan replied.

"No. It-its ok. I'm g-glad you t-told me," I stuttered. I had a bad feeling that our dad had sent the dream to him for a certain reason and not on purpose. I looked back hoping to see Alethia at the Zeus table but she wasn't there. _That's unusual. I don't know why she wouldn't be eating,_ I thought.

After lunch, me and Logan walked to the pegasus stable where I could teach Logan how to ride a pegasus. He kind of freaked out when the horses started talking to him. I explained since Poseidon had made horses out of sea foam, we understand their thoughts and we can talk to them. He calmed down afterwards and together we flew around the camp which he got a kick out of. Logan thought the view was amazing as we rode in the sky and then he asked if we could go higher and I told him it was dangerous and just flying was dangerous for the child of Poseidon. He asked why and I told him it was because Zeus and Poseidon always fight about Mother Rhea always liking one of them better or sea disasters are better than sky disasters or my powers are better and stuff like that. So they've fought for millennia and they have grudges against one another. Also Zeus has always believed that Poseidon has been trying to unseat him from being king of the gods. That's why."

"Oh. Well this sight is still spectacular," he answered.

I was also looking for Alethia, hoping to see her but I had no such luck. _Where could she be?_ I considered. I was starting to worry because if something had happened to her, I probably wouldn't be able to see her again. _Well she could be in the infirmary after fighting a monster or someone_, part of me thought. _But I've known her for so long that I know she's not hurt!_ the other part of me argued. _Oh shut up and just focus on helping Logan for the rest of the day and if you don't see Alethia or you can't contact her at all by the end of the day, talk to Chiron and see if you guys can do something to find her,_ said some small part of me and I focused on that part. When our pegasi's hooves had touched the ground safely, I jumped off quickly and ran to Lillian who was running up to the stables with a worried look that told me something was wrong.

"Have you seen Alethia?" she panted. "She told me that she would meet me at the arena after lunch."

"No. I haven't. I was looking for her when I was flying over camp with Logan but I didn't see her. You don't think she left camp without permission do you?"

"No way. I know she would ask for permission."

"Mmmm. True. But still, I haven't seen her ever since this morning. I didn't see her at lunch either which I thought was kind of weird," I answered frowning.

"Well lets try to Iris-message her and see. If we can't get through, then we'll have to go to Chiron and see if she left camp with his permission."

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

"Hey, why didn't you wait for me!" yelled a voice behind me. I turned to see Logan running towards us frowning with confusion.

"Because we have some depressing matters to discuss," I replied.

"Uh-oh. What's happening? What is the depressing news?" he asked arching his eyebrows.

I glanced at Lillian and she nodded, agreeing that we should tell him even though he barely knew Alethia although she didn't look to happy about telling him.

"You know that girl from the Zeus cabin? Daughter of Zeus?" I asked.

"Yeah, what about her?" he said.

"Well, me and Lillian have known her for a long time so she's like a sister to us but, well, she's missing from camp for some reason," I answered darkly.

"What? She's gone? What are we going to do? What if something happened to her? Who are we going to tell? How will we fi-," Logan stopped freaking out and then reasoned, "Wait. I'm sure she is fine. Its not like she just left. I'm sure she left for a reason and will return."

"No! Logan, you can't leave camp without permission. Walking out of camp would be suicide, monsters would attack you and even the most experienced monster fighter wouldn't walk out of camp without a reason," I answered quickly.

"Oh. What king of reasons?" Logan asked anxiously.

"You better not get any ideas, Logan. Or else," I said glaring suspiciously at him.

"Oh no. I won't. I promise," he said trying to look solemn and serious. I snorted.

"Yeah, you'll try to make sure you don't and you'll _try_ to promise it."

"I'm serious!" he reacted, putting his hands up.

"Mmmm. Sure. Not exactly convinced."

"Anyways, what are the reasons."

I glared at him and finally answered. "Well, one would be having a quest. Another would be because you got permission to visit someone or because you have to leave camp early for school cause some schools start earlier than others."

"Oh. Well if you think I'm getting ideas at all of leaving camp, I'm not because there is no way that I'd be able to survive outside camp. Monsters would attack me every five feet." "Mmmm-hmmm. Well we were thinking that if we Iris-message her and then we can't get through, then we will talk to Chiron to see if she did leave camp with permission from him or not."

"That sounds convenient," Logan chuckled.

"Well, duh!" Lillian grumbled. "I came up with the idea."

"Hey, we both were thinking it but you announced it to me," I answered shaking my head

"Whatever. You always seem to know what I'm thinking," she said.

"And I think you know why," I replied.

"Yeah, I do," she said grimly. I chuckled and then clapped my hands together. "Well if were going to Iris-message Alethia, then we better start!"

"Yep! We should. We need mist and one golden drachma."

"Ok. Anyone have a golden drachma? Logan?"

"No. I don't have one."

"Lillian?"

She began to shake her head but she stopped and replied, "Wait. I think I might have on." as she reached into her pocket. She then said, "Ah-hah! Found one! Thank the gods!" she pulled a coin out and gave it to me. I grabbed a hose that we used for washing the pegasus and turned it on, making it face a certain way so that it caught the sunlight, making a rainbow.

"O Iris, goddess of rainbows, please accept my offering." I threw the coin in to the mist where it disappeared. "Show me Alethia." The image shimmered and a blurry scenery came up. It was so blurry that I couldn't make out anything. So I listened instead. I began to hear Alethia talking in the background but I couldn't make out the words. Then another voice appeared that sent a chill down my spine because it sounded very, very familiar. Then the image started vibrating and something that had never happened before to me, did.

A voice appeared and said in a polite voice, "You can not contact this area. This is out of service and is shut off from any other Iris-messages. Please unlock the connection code in order for the connection to work or please break the connection. Thank you." I stared at the Iris-message horror-stuck as the coin we threw in came back out and the connection shut off. The water shut off and the blurry, vibrating image disappeared. I looked at Lillian who was wide-eyed and surprised looking and then at Logan who had a questioningly look on his face instead. I growled in complete, absolute frustration, gave the coin back to Lillian and put the hose back.

"I guess its time to do Plan B. Talk to Chiron since we can't contact Alethia."

"Yeah. And that's never happened before with an Iris-message," replied Lillian.

"Lets go then," I snarled. Lillian looked at Logan with small distaste and we began walking towards the Big House, a well, big, blue, three story house with a mummy, our Oracle, in the attic. The Big House was the head camp quarters and the infirmary was inside that was always abundant with demigods from dueling or training activities. Chiron and Mr. D (you'll meet him later) also lived here. I always wondered how Chiron could sleep on a bed being half horse but that was the least of my worries. The house was also used to hold war councils for senior counselors of each cabin.

So as we walked toward it, I thought about the other voice. I was so sure that I'd heard that voice before. Besides, where was he? I hadn't seen him at lunch either. Or any other part of the day, only during breakfast. But he was quiet then which was unusual. Maybe, he had something to do with Alethia's disappearance.

**A/N: WHO IS HE? You'll find out soon! :) REVIEW AND SUBSCRIBE PLEASE.**


	12. A Death Prophecy is Sprouted

**A/N: Ok readers, I'm not gloating or anything but when I sat down to write this chapter a while back, I knew exactly what the prophecy would be! I didn't even plan it out but when I started getting to the part about the Oracle and I wrote the prophecy, I went back and read it and I was like, amazed by how I wrote that! Lol. I hope you are impressed by the prophecy and stumped! **

**Christina:**

"No, I haven't given anyone permission to leave camp and neither has Mr. D. Well, I don't know about Mr. D, but I know that I definitely didn't give anyone permission. Did you Mr. D?" Chiron said, frowning.

We were sitting on the back porch of the Big House with Chiron and Mr. D, playing pinochle and drinking lemonade. As we played, we explained to Mr. D and Chiron that we think Alethia was missing and the Iris-message.

"I certainly haven't given anyone permission either," sniffed Mr. D as he tallied up his points.

"Then that clears it up," answered Chiron. "Alethia is missing and we can't contact her. Speaking of contacting, tell me about the Iris-message again."

So I explained to him and Lillian and Logan filled in with some of the details. When we were done, Chiron sighed and looked at Mr. D who said, "What? Why look at me? Its not like you came to me directly, Christina. You came for _Chiron_. Not _Mr. D_."

"Yes, but you're the god. Your body is in a bunch of different places and you can probably find her. Maybe Apollo could find her because he's always driving the sun chariot across the sky. Besides, Alethia is your half-sister considering you're both children of Zeus."

Mr. D glared at me but even he knew it was true.

"And I may have come for Chiron, but Mr. D, this is your camp too. Do something about it to help. Make any sense?" I finished.

Mr. D snorted and said, "You always seem to amuse me with what you say. But why are we so focused on finding one demigod? I don't care what happens to you demigods. Zeus sent me here to dry-out as punishment. The less of you there is, the more happier I am because then I don't have to put up with you half-blood brats!"

"Mr. D, yes you were sent here as a punishment but maybe also because its to teach you a lesson of listening and to show us, guide us. Don't you agree Chiron?"

"Actually, yes I do. But you do realize you're talking to a god."

"God or not, it doesn't matter. Even gods learn lessons," I answered, crossing my arms.

"Gods don't need to be taught lessons! We know everything! We see everything! We just about hear everything too!" Mr. D roared.

"Yeah, right. You know everything and see everything. Even gods don't know everything! They may see everything and just about hear everything, which the hearing thing I'm not sure about, but you certainly don't know everything!" I said starting to raise my voice. Mr. D was starting to make me mad and if I get mad, its not pretty sometimes. Even though he was a god and was probably going to blast me to pieces if I say what I'm going to say, he needed to learn a lesson. Also, I personally think my mom and dad would pretty much kill Mr. D if he tried to blast me. He was an overgrown, drunk brat that was spoiled. Oh yeah, and since he is the god of wine and grapes, I think he's hyped up on it. And seeing as he can't have wine until his punishment is over, it was probably the grapes.

"Christina, listen to me. I'm a god and you shouldn't talk to me or any other god like that," he said, his voice dangerous. "Just because your mother is Athena and your dad is Poseidon, not making you a demigod, doesn't mean you can get away with anything. Is that clear?"

That's when I got mad and raised my voice completely.

"I didn't say anything about my parents! I don't even care for them! They don't care for me, then I don't care for them! I didn't mention anything about getting away with anything just because I'm not a demigod! So don't get me started on my parents or not being a demigod! Some of you gods are _so_ stubborn! You think you know everything and that you don't have to learn lessons! Some of you gods are just blind! You don't see the truth! You won't admit that you gods _need_ demigods! We are the bonds that keep you tied to the world basically! If we were to all die, you would slowly fade and die too! Then all that is in mankind that you gods made will disappear! And right now, you Dionysus, are the most ignorant, blindest and irresponsible god ever!"

Mr. D looked at me with a purplish fire in his eyes, but that didn't scare me.

"_I am not ignorant, blind or irresponsible. You may be smart, but you should never ever talk to me much less any other god or goddess like that. You should be lucky that I'm not blasting you to pieces. Most gods would evolve into their true form before you could react and you would disintegrate. Or most gods would just blast you to pieces on the spot. And yes us gods won't admit that we need you demigods but really, we don't_," Mr. D said. His voice had changed because he had switched to Ancient Greek.

"_Like I said, if we weren't here, then you guys would slowly fade and die. Your essence would go straight to Tartarus. Then everything made by you would fade from mankind_," I answered in the same tongue.

I looked at Chiron and I knew that he was listening. Lillian's eyes were wide again and she was shaking her head. Logan, well, he was looking at me like speaking in Ancient Greek was impressive.

"_That may be true and you demigods may be the bonds but the gods need to be looked up to and admired by you guys, not outsmarted. Demigods need to appreciate what we have given to them_," Mr. D replied. "_Does this make any sense to you?_"

"_Well duh! But still! You obviously don't get the point! Gods learn lessons too as much as demigods do!_"

"_Christina, you can believe that gods can learn lessons but the truth is, we don't. We don't need to learn lessons. We have been living for almost over three millennia, so we know everything and see everything. Is that clear?_"

"_You know what Dionysus? I don't give up but I think I know what I'm talking about and you don't. So I'm not going to waste my breath on trying to explain to you. You go about your own way thinking the wrong way and I will go my way knowing what's right_," I growled.

"Fine then, so be it," he answered in English.

"Whoa. You were speaking in Ancient Greek," cut in Logan.

"It's nothing really Logan. You should be learning Ancient Greek," I said looking at him seriously.

"Right. Anyways, what are we going to do about Alethia?"

That's when Chiron finally spoke.

"Well, the Iris-message was a bit weird. Iris and I have been friends for a long time and I've never seen or have it happen," he said calmly.

"So what are we going to do? She's like a sister and you know that Chiron. Why did she leave without permission because you know she would never do that? Unless...," I said my voice trailing off.

"Unless what, Christina?" asked Chiron leaning forward.

"I know this may sound mess up, but, unless some enemy took her," I supposed.

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair (did I mention that he can lower his horse half into a box that becomes a wheelchair with fake human legs so he can pass as human?). He sighed and looked cautiously Mr. D and then back at me.

"You really think that? Are you sure that an enemy took her for some reason?" he questioned darkly.

"Yes. I do. The only question is, 'Who is the enemy, what are they planning and why did they take her and not someone else?'"

"Good question. Maybe its time you consulted the Oracle. I have a bad feeling that even though we are worrying about one demigod disappearing, it is a major problem that she's gone and that this may result in a quest to rescue her," Chiron replied.

"Are you sure it is time Chiron?"

He nodded. "Yes. Go consult the Oracle. Then come back and we will talk considering you will still be sane."

I got up, and walked inside the house, up the staircase until I had reached the attic. A door swung open and a ladder appeared underneath. I climbed up and walked into a room filled of dusty trophies, swords, shields and souvenirs and junk that campers no longer wanted in their cabins. In the back of the room sat a mummy with a tie-died dress on and a bunch of jewelry all over. The Oracle. I approached it and a raspy, snaky voice said, _"I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask."_

I gathered my wits and asked the mummy, "What do I need to do to rescue Alethia?"

The mummy opened her mouth and green mist came out, thickening and swirling around me. Then the raspy, snaky voice spoke,

_Four shall travel as far west as they can_

_To find the girl taken by hand_

_You will lose a needed child of archery, a friend_

_Only to find a god in the end_

_If thee shall find the girl, war shall wage_

_And underground will release terrible rage_

And on that happy note, the green mist receded back into the mummy's mouth and the mouth clamped shut. I stood as rigid as a board and finally, I turned and walked out of the room, trying not to make a run for it down the ladder and the stairs. When I reached the last stair, I sprinted outside through the house and back out onto the porch to find Chiron, Mr. D, Logan and Lillian playing a new game of pinochle. When I reached the table, Chiron looked up and said, "Well. Lets hear what the Oracle said." Reluctantly, I repeated the lines and after I had finished, Logan let out a long whistle.

"So I guess that clears it up. We go far west. We find Alethia. We will lose a best friend and if we do find Alethia-," his voice stopped and then he said frowning, "What's the point in finding her if war will happen and the ground will release such rage?"

"Because, the enemy has her and whatever they're planning isn't good. So of course there is going to be a fight. But Logan, prophecy lines always have double meanings. You never know until it has happen," I replied.

"Christina is right," said Lillian. "But I also am thinking, when you choose your companions, I would avoid taking a child of archery. And since Artemis doesn't have any kids, then the line would basically apply easily to a child of Apollo. So I would avoid taking a daughter or son of Apollo."

"Good point but it said a needed child of archery. So we have to take a child of Apollo even it means they die. I know who I am taking if you accept and if the other demigod will also. Lillian, will you accompany me on this quest?"

"Sure thing Christina. Just like the old days. On the run together. Only this time were actually going somewhere."

She laughed at the last sentence and I cracked a smile.

"Thanks. Now the last companion." I took a deep breath because I wa sure that the next person I would ask would probably get us killed. I turned my eyes to Logan. "Logan, will you be the second companion who will go with me on this quest?" He looked at me incredulously.

"Me? But why me? I've only been at camp for five days! What good am I going to do?" he said bewildered.

"Logan, you have trained with me and I think you're ready to go on the quest. Also, you can see what the real world is like when you know you're a demigod-,"

"Joy."

"And hopefully you won't get us killed," I muttered. Chiron looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"So do you agree to go or are you going to back down?" I finally finished.

He thought about it and said, "I accept to join you on this quest."

"Thanks. Just make sure you don't kil us." I repeated.

Logan opened his mouth to object but was interrupted.

"Who is the last demigod?"

"I don't know Chiron. I'll ask tonight at the camp fire. It's wrong to volunteer an Apollo kid to go on this quest and have them die. It's just wrong. So I'll ask tonight," I replied grimly.

"All right. In the meantime, you could practice fighting and getting ready. Do not tell anyone until tonight at dinner or during the camp fire. Right now, I have a meeting with the gods about certain matters. I will be back soon." He glanced at Mr. D. Then he continued. "Mr. D will also be coming so Argus will, er, keep an eye on things."

"Argus? Is he the many-eyed security dude?" Logan asked curiously.

"Yes."

"The one with eyes all over his body and never says anything and people still understand him?"

"Yes."

"And he only shows up at meetings if something really serious is going on?"

"Yes, that is Argus."

"The one who-," he began.

"Yes Logan," I cut in. "How many times does Chiron have to repeat himself?"

Logan blushed. "Sorry."

We all got up, thanked Chiron and Mr. D for the game and helping us and left. We were about to turn the corner when we looked back and saw Chiron and Mr. D picking up one card before they turned it and the air began to bend around them. Then with a brilliant white flash, they were gone. All three of us walked towards the arena talking about the quest and making plans.

That night after dinner, everyone ventured towards the amphitheater for some exciting songs. After everyone had settled down on the benches, Chiron pounded his hoof against the metal grate, silencing everyone. Gradually, the talking died down and all eyes focused on Chiron.

"Heroes! Before we begin our campfire songs, I would like to make an announcement!" Before he could proceed, the talking started again.

"Silence!" Chiron yelled. "The first announcement is about one demigod! As you know, there is one child of Zeus!" Heads nodded. "However, she has gone missing and Christina has some news abut it." He nodded towards me and I got up and stood in front of the campfire. "Christina, you may explain," he told me.

"Well now that you know Alethia is missing, let me fill the rest in. But I'm going to ask two questions first. Question one: Where was the Alethia last seen?" Murmuring broke out and finally some stood up and said, "The last place we saw her was at the archery range. That was it. No one else saw her because Lillian asked just about everyone who was with her during some of the activities."

"Ok then. That's a start. Question two: Does anyone have any information?" Many people shook their heads but it was the Apollo cabin behind me that said something.

"We have only one piece of information." I turned on them and everyone quickly fell silent.

"And what happens to be the information?" I asked curiously. The Apollo cabin looked nervous and a few of them shuffled their feet, as if thinking that it was a bad idea to say anything.

"Lynch Fuller is missing as well. He disappeared around the same time Alethia did. We had archery practice with Alethia and then when it was time to move to the next activity, they were both gone. We figured that they had gone to a different activity until Lillian started asking. That's it. That is all we know."

"Tha-that's all I needed to hear. Let me explain what I know." So I explained to them about Lillian asking me and us trying to Iris-message Alethia. I left out the part about the coin being given back to us and the weird freaky voice. I also left out the part with me and Mr. D. That's when I reached the quest part.

"So Chiron and I have decided that we need to do something. I am taking up a quest. And I have already received the prophecy from the Oracle. Here it is." I repeated the prophecy and when I had finished, I could feel the Apollo cabin's tension crackling from all of the attention.

"So who is going?" asked someone in the crowd.

"Lillian Blake and Logan Moore. But we need a child of Apollo and I can't just pick one of you guys to come and then die. It's wrong. I said, one of you guys could volunteer. We have to have an Apollo kid because if we don't, we'll have terrible luck and we'll all die thanks to the Fates. You all know how it goes," I said sadly.

I looked at the Apollo kids and silence filed in. Finally, Liam spoke up.

"I'll do it."

I choked up.

"Liam...no. I've known you too long. You're the cabin leader and I just can't stand by and watch a friend die. Please Liam," I said, giving him a really sad look.

"Christina, I know. But I'm volunteering to die. If there's anything better than being with friends on a quest, it's dying a heroic death. When my time comes, I won't be afraid. I'm not afraid to die Christina. Seriously. But you've got to be strong when it's my time. And when it is, then I'll know I did my best and was heroic in the end. There's no need to be afraid because I'm not and you've got to be strong."

I looked at him, sadly. My heart dropped to my stomach but I knew deep down he was right. But I couldn't just watch my friend die! What was I suppose to do as he died in front of me?

"So Christina, do you accept me coming on this quest for you?"

I looked around at the camper's shocked faces. I then looked at the Apollo kids who were studying their feet. It would be really wrong to turn Liam down and then pick another Apollo kid to die. They were Liam's brothers and sisters for the gods sake! By turning him and down and then choosing one of his brothers or sisters to come and die on a quest was just wrong! He would hate me and besides, no other Apollo kid was willing to die and Liam was the only one owning up to it.

"Fine then. I accept," I managed to get out. I started choking a bit, my throat closing up. "We will leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Then it's settled. You, Liam, Lillian and Logan will leave first things tomorrow," Chiron said.

He chuckled. "A bunch of L's are going on a quest."

I looked at him in disbelief. How could he be joking around in such a grieving time? He cleared his throat and continued on seriously.

"Well give your good luck and wish them the best, especially Liam. Tomorrow early in the morning, we'll light a pyre for his honor, bravery and courage. Now on with the songs."

The camp sang the songs but judging from the color of flames, everyone was anxious and scared about the quest. The Apollo cabin tried to sound upbeat, despite the despair they where in. Even Liam tried but it was obvious his mind was on the quest and he knew I was giving him that sad-kinda-mad look. Everyone stopped singing really early because Liam kind of dropped the beat and then the music died down. Silence filled in the amphitheater and after a few seconds of pure, sad silence, Liam looked at me. He knew what the look was about.

"Christina. I'm sorry but it's the only way to complete that part of the prophecy. I won't be afraid but-,"

"No. Stop. Please Liam. Just stop talking. You're making it worse for me. You don't know how hard this is," I said weakly.

"No, you need to know and get this through your head."

"Liam, please stop! Please! You don't realize that by you volunteering," I said loudly but I stopped.

"What?"

"You're only killing me," I finished quietly. "When you are lying in front of me, bleeding to death, what am I suppose to do? Just stand there and watch you leave me? My first instinct will be to help you. Because that is me. I care more for family and friends than myself."

"Listen to me. I know I'm going on this quest to die. And I don't mind. I'm not afraid to die. But Christina, if you're strong to accept the fact your brother is dying for you so you can rescue Alethia and stop whatever evil scheme is going on, then you would let me die in peace. By being strong as I leave this world, I'll know that you can deal without me. And I'll always be with you as your brother even when I'm dead. It's called Elysium where heroes go to die. When they die, supposedly their name lives in the minds of all other demigods even when the demigods don't know it. Supposedly their souls are split, one for Elysium and the other to go with and protect the ones they were close to. Please Christina, _listen to me_."

"Stop it please, Liam. You're killing me now. Stop it because when you die, how am I suppose to work my way through the quest knowing I accepeted you to come on this quest and die? Knowing I stood by a friend and watched him die in front of me! HOW?"

"Then think about Elysium and how I'll be happy in a place where I can be in peace. Where I won't have to worry about monsters attacking me. You know I'm doing for the best and because I care for this camp, for you, for Alethia and to stop evil from happening. Because I care to let the Fates deal with my life. To control it like they planned it ever since I was born. They have a plan for _every_ demigod's life, even if they grow up to become adults without knowing they are a demigod. Everybody's destiny and path is carved and planned by the Fates. What they will to happen to us will happen."

I gave him a sad look.

"Please stop. If you care so much, then stop telling me this. Please Liam," I choked.

"Because it's true," he said quietly.

Silence settled some more between us. I looked around the amphitheater and then at Logan and Lillian. Lillian was just as sad as I was. Logan was in speechless shock. I looked at the Apollo kids. One of Liam's sisters were crying. I took a look at everyone in the amphitheater and then without another word, I left the amphitheater; everybody staring after me as I went to my cabin and packed our bags.


	13. The Stupid Suicidal Quest

**Christina:**

I'd like to say I got a good nights sleep before the quest, right?

WRONG!

I know, I know. Your parents say, 'You better get a good nights sleep before we go on vacation,' right? Or they say the same thing but only for something else that's big. But you're so excited about it, you can't sleep so you're always constantly waking up. Well its vise versa for me kind of. I wasn't excited about going on the quest. Liam was suppose to die. I was probably leading Logan, someone who was barely trained, into suicide. Then to add to that, two kids whose dad were the same? That was definitely going to get us killed because now he knew he was a child of Poseidon, a powerful god. And me being the daughter of Poseidon _and_ Athena, another powerful god, was going to attract a whole lot of nasty monsters.

Another reason why I kept waking up. Dreams. The dreams that I had been having ever since two days ago, Logan was claimed, were frequent, scarier and more horrible. But the night before the quest, they were worse than ever. I'd dream of where Alethia was being kept and we would be finding her. Then a war would begin. I would be fighting but every single time in the dream, Lillian, Liam, Alethia or Logan would end up dying. And I would wake up in cold sweat. But I would calm down quickly. In the Poseidon cabin, it sounded like waves rolling in and out however, it depended on our mood. If we were calm, the waves sounded small and calm. If we were angry, they sounded like they were pounding the beach. Now, with two of us in the cabin, Logan's half sounded pretty calm while my half sounded like an angry sea.

Anyways, I was constantly dreaming of that same dream all night long. Finally around 2:30 am, I got out of bed grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and sat down on the sofa. I wrote down at the top: Remembrance from My Past, in Greek. I took out my clip that was the shape of a trident and set it down on the table.

"Allagí̱ ," I said in Greek, meaning to "shift" or "change". The trident flickered and turned into a golden key.

"Píso̱ allagí̱ ," I then said. In Greek, that means "back change" and only that. Not "back shift" which was "píso̱ metatópisi̱ " The key turned into a trident. I rather liked the trident form instead of the golden key.

I tried to think of what happened before I started living with Lillian. But nothing came. It was just blankness in my mind. About an hour later, I hadn't written down anything and Logan woke up looking for a drink of water. After five minutes of looking for a glass, he got his drink and sat down on the bed, watching me.

"What are you doing up at this time of the morning?" he asked.

"What are you doing up also?" I said.

"I needed a drink," he replied.

"Then you could've done that and gone back to bed," I answered sourly.

"Well sorry. Its just that I think something's troubling you. I think its your past. Besides, Lillian said earlier when we were on the porch and you were asking her about her being a companion, she said, 'it could be like the old days.' So I was thinking something sparked about your past that your can't quite grasp."

"Yeah, well..." I sighed. "Ok I guess you could say that. I'm disturbed about my past and I haven't been able to sleep because I have been having some weird dreams…lately." What I didn't say was, 'I have been having some weird dreams ever since you got claimed by Poseidon'.

"Oh." He noticed the trident clip reflecting the moonlight. "Why do you always carry that with you? I mean like, I see it in your hair always, never leaving. So I was wondering why its so special."

"Well, I keep it with me because its my weapon," I answered. He laughed nervously.

"A clip? What does it do? Do you like take it out of your hair and attach it to a monster so they scream about having a fashion pin on them and die?" he asked. I chuckled.

"Heck. I wish that would happen. No, Logan. It's not just any ordinary clip. Watch." I picked it up and touched the middle point. It transformed into a three foot long celestial bronze sword that gleamed in the moonlight. I made it transform back only this time it was in golden key form. I switched back to the trident clip.

"Whoa." Then Logan noticed something else about the clip.

"Fuscinadentimos Maxima."

"Trident in Greek and greatest in Latin ," I answered. "Wait. Isn't the word Fuscinadentimos mixed with different words for trident in Greek. Why?"

"I don't know. Ask Poseidon if you want."

"And isn't that also the one you used the day you saved me against the hellhounds?"

I nodded.

"That's amazing," he said. "Well, you should get some sleep and so should I. Goodnight." and with that he let himself fall back, but he did it again. _Thonk! _

"Owwww. Why do I always do that?" then with that he was sleeping.

I chuckled. He was now famous for hitting his head in this cabin. I looked at my paper then I set it on the couch, climbed back into bed and went to sleep. And I had a dream that I didn't expect. One that made me mad with my parents more. One that I hope I'll never dream of again.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the morning sunlight flowing in and hitting my face. I got out of bed and changed into my Camp Half-Blood tee shirt. I put my hair up into a tight ponytail and then made sure Logan and I had everything in both our backpacks. I secretly made sure I grabbed the 'Remembrance from My Past' paper, the pen and stuffed it into my backpack. Then I woke up Logan.

When he was done dressing, we both grabbed our bags, took one last look at the cabin, and left. We met Lillian and Liam five minutes later in the Mess Hall with Chiron and some campers who had come to wish us good luck. Even Griffin had come. They were lighting the pyre in honor of Liam. The camp store had loaned me three-hundred dollars, dozen gold drachmas, ambrosia and nectar.

Chiron clip-clopped up to me and said, "Good luck Christina. I know you'll do well and I know you'll find Alethia and get everyone back safely. And speaking of Alethia, yesterday, when I went to Olympus, I reported to Zeus that she was missing and he was outraged. I mean it's his only child so of course he was going to be like that. But he said that he wants his daughter returned and it has to be at Olympus. I don't know why it has to be at Olympus, but he wants his daughter to be found and returned at Olympus. So when you find Alethia and save her, go to Olympus. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Oh yeah and your parents told me to tell you some things that might help with your quest. Your mom, Athena said to keep your eyes peeled when you are in the west states and your dad, Poseidon said to remember the rivers, lakes and the ocean. It will help. He also said something about seashells and underwater stuff working where there is no water."

"Well I don't care what they tell me because they think it will help with the quest. They don't care." Chiron gave me a stern look.

"Ok they do care, but this is the only time I'll take their advice."

Chiron still looked at me sternly but he said, "You better get going before it gets any later."

"Sure."

I turned and all the campers that had gathered wished me good luck. Griffin came up to me and said, "Good luck because I know you'll succeed."

"Griffin, I'm sorry that I didn't pick you." His eyes grew wide.

"No no! It's ok! I wouldn't have been able to anyways because I have to go undercover again and go to a new school to look for new demigods. Seriously I would have backed down if you had asked me because I don't want monsters sniffing my furry hind and attacking us. I don't want to be goat steak still!"

I laughed and replied, "You've left that thought in my mind. Goat steak? Yuck!"

Griffin smiled and answered, "Get going and go kill some monsters for this camp. And keep Logan safe!"

"Ok, I will." Then me, Logan and Lillian and Liam walked down the hill towards Argus who would be driving us for a little bit. Logan, Liam and Lillian crossed the border and I stopped short. I took one last look at the valley and before I crossed and jumped into the car, telling Argus to step on it. The last thing I saw as we drove away was Chiron raising his bow in farewell. We drove along the road and finally got us onto the Long Island Expressway which we drove along for a while. After what seemed like hours, we got off the Long Island Expressway and onto the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The white Camp Half-Blood van kept following the expressway roads until we reached an exit that lead to the Williamsburg Bridge. Then from there we took a few turns and got onto Broadway street. Argus drove on Broadway and then I looked at Logan and said, "There's the Empire State Building, the entrance to Olympus."

He looked up ahead and saw it and answered in awe, "Whoa." And then, "Wait. _What_?" I explained to him why it was above the Empire State Building and he just nodded.

We turned the corner and drove along 34th street West and then left onto a corner with a train terminal. We thanked Argus, paid for our tickets and got on. In no time we were on our way to Hoboken which was across the Holland Tunnel. No one talked for a while until about halfway. Liam looked a bit pale and I wondered if he was thinking about him dying.

"So, what's the game plan?" Logan asked. Me and Lillian looked at him like it was obvious which it was.

"Well west of course," snorted Lillian.

"I know that were suppose to go west, smarty. But where west?" he replied.

Then that's what became our next problem.

"I really don't know. All the prophecy said was to go as far west as you can. What does that mean?" I said miserably. "I didn't even think about where in the west. I was so focused on getting Alethia back, that I didn't even think about where in the west would we find her."

"Hey its ok," Logan said trying to reassure me. "You're doing great. I mean, we haven't seen a monster so far which is good."

"Yeah I guess. But still Logan. I should have planned on where we would go in the west."

"Still. I think you're going to fine on this quest."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one whose leading the quest and your friends into something that can get them killed," I said glumly.

"Or where one of them you know is going to die," Liam added quietly.

No one said anything for a few minutes.

"Well, lets just focus on going west," Lillian finally said, breaking the ice. "And then when we reach the west coast, we'll see about where we can go."

"Sounds like a plan. And there is something I want to tell you guys. Two things actually and I think one of them is going to give us some useful information actually as to where we need to go in the west. But first thing is first. Zeus wants Alethia found and returned to Olympus."

"What is that suppose to mean?" asked Lillian and Logan in unison.

"I was getting to that," I growled. Liam glanced at me but I didn't meet his eyes.

"Right," replied Logan.

"What Zeus means is when we find Alethia, we have to bring her to Olympus. I don't know why we can't just take her back to camp and then Chiron tell Zeus she's safe or Apollo tell Zeus because Apollo sees all seeing how he drives the sun chariot across the sky," I explained.

"True. But since Zeus ordered it, we half to follow what he says," reasoned Lillian.

"Lillian is right," Logan said.

"I know that, Logan," I said glaring at him but he kept talking.

"Anyways, what's the other thing?" I looked at Lillian and sighed.

"Poseidon and Athena sent a dream to me after we went to bed," I divulged.

Liam looked at me and I finally met his eyes. I stared and worry sat hidden behind those blue eyes. He knew I had a hard time talking about my parents.

"Uh-oh. What happened because I know you have bad history with your parents and hate talking about them," Lillian commented, her voice quavering a little.

"Well, actually we just talked in the dream. Athena gave me some useful information for where we might be able to find Alethia. Wait, that's it! We might know where Alethia is instead of having to worry about where she is when we get to the west coast!" Lillian and Logan grinned. Even Liam kinda smiled.

"Sweet," Logan said grinning.

"Anyways, she said that either she's in San Francisco, The Bay Area or Las Angeles. So now that we know those locations, she's in one of them being held hostage. All we half to do is check each place and find her. Also, Poseidon said that he would help me with the powers over the ocean and rivers. But I'm not quite sure I if I want him to help me. I don't even care for him. But I guess it will do."

"So was that all there was in your dream. Just Athena and Poseidon giving you somewhat useful information to help us on our quest west?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not really. They tried to talk to me about my past. About how they do care and all that stuff. But I got mad at them in the dream and told them that they have never cared for me and that if they did then how come they haven't showed up all those years and why I don't know my past and what really got them was when I said if they cared so much about me, how come they didn't help me and protect me when I was on the run."

Lillian and Logan were silent for a long time. I gave a quick glance to Liam who was just giving me this sad look. I almost told him to cut it out because he was killing me with it.

"That was harsh," Logan admitted, shaking his head.

"Yeah, well they deserved to hear it," I objected.

"Mmmm-hmmm. And you've told them that same statement how many times again?" Lillian pointed out.

"I don't know and I don't care," I snapped.

"Okay, okay. Don't get all snappy with me Christina. I'm just saying," she grumbled.

"Whatever. Forget it," I sighed angrily, rolling my eyes.

"Do you always have to glare or roll your eyes?" asked Logan with a monotonous tone.

"No," I answered firmly. "And do you always have to be annoying?"

"I'm not always annoying," he said. "I'm just pointing out things."

"Is it just me, or are you becoming more of an idiot?" I asked.

"That's nice to hear," grouched Logan. "I guess that clears it all up. I _am_ annoying and an idiot."

"Yeah. You said it yourself. You _are_ annoying and an idiot and you always ask obvious questions," I retorted.

"Shut up," he answered, making a face.

"Oh good job. Bravo! That really is going to make a difference about you being an idiot. Making faces is so 12 year old like. Its really going to do an effect on me," I answered sarcastically. Logan made another face and I chuckled.

"You keep on making those faces."

Logan opened his mouth to retort but couldn't thanks to Liam.

"Shut up guys," Liam cut in. I looked out the window and watched the city go by. 10 minutes later, the conductor got on the intercom and said we would be arriving in Hoboken in about five minutes. I continued to look out the window and not speak until we had arrived at the station. We got off and began walking out of the station and into the city where we caught a bus with a huge smiling sun in, a blue sea on the right and a city on the left. I couldn't exactly make out the title of the bus which was painted right next to the sun because it looked something like this, 'All rundoA the US Sunnshie Traeevlr'.

"What in the world does that say?" I asked.

"I don't know," Christina replied. I forgot that as smart as she was, Christina was also dyslexic. I asked one of the passengers who were boarding what it said. She told me it said, 'All Around the US Sunshine Traveler,' and that it was traveling to Charleston, West Virginia. We hopped aboard as a couple more passengers got on and the bus left.

The bus was perfect for traveling in of course. It was massive! There were comfortable chairs that you could lean back in and sleep. The leg space was big enough to stretch your feet out with still a bit of room. There was a miniature flat screen TV that would come out of the armrest because if it was on the back of the chair of the passenger in front of you, and they leaned back, you wouldn't be able to watch TV. But, everyone on the bus had enough room to stretch out and put their stuff without any problem. The other passengers on the bus were: a boy and a girl with their mom, a grandma, and a young woman and a man. Six other passengers. The bus also had a bathroom with a shower and a staircase that lead to a second floor that had massaging chairs, and a miniature snack bar. That was it. _Not bad_, I thought. _Its only 10 am and we're almost leaving New York and heading for West Virginia._

So me, Liam, Logan, and Lillian sat at the back of the bus where we believed had the slightly a bit more leg space. We stretched out and Lillian said that around noon, she was going up to the snack bar to get something and she was going to try one of those massage chairs. I agreed that I would come with her and Logan agreed too but only for the snack bar, not the massage chair. He said while we would be in the massage chairs, he would be down here watching TV.

As eleven rolled around, we all began to get restless. Four ADHD kids on a bus for I-don't-know-how-long even with a second floor that contained a massage area and a snack bar was not fun still. Finally, we couldn't stand it anymore. We all glanced at one another and then we all got up, and went to the second floor around 11:20 am. As soon as we reached the second level, Logan and Liam headed towards the snack bar while me and Lillian walked to the massage chairs.

"Ahhhh," sighed Lillian. "This feels so good."

"I know right. I wish that they had these at camp. Then we could really relax after some major training."

"Ha-ha." We sat there for a while and finally Logan came over and stood in front of us. Liam didn't follow for some reason. He sat at the snack bar, his back to us as he drank his smoothie.

"I'm am resisting the urge to sit down in one of those comfortable, massaging chairs."

"Yeah, I bet you are. Because you know you really want to sit down," I smiled. Then I whispered, "They're calling your name."

"That would be scary if they actually did call your names," he said.

"It would be."

"You know what?" Logan replied. "I'm going to sit down in one of those chairs. Its too tempting to resist it."

"Join us than," Lillian welcomed. He took a seat next to Lillian and sighed with satisfaction.

"Better. Man I could get use to this," Logan said. No one said anything for a long time. After hour of not talking, I sensed something. I abruptly stood up and said cautiously, "Guys, do you guys sense that?"

"Hmmmm," questioned Lillian.

"Lillian!"

"What! Oh I'm awake! Yeah, what's the matter?" she frowned.

I heard a small growl.

"You heard that right?" I asked her.

"I sure as Hades did," Liam finally said.

Lillian nodded.

"Get Logan," was my only reply.

"Why?" she questioned, still mystified.

"Because something doesn't feel right," I answered. "I sense something and it seems out of place."

"Whaaat? Fine, I'll get him up." She turned and shook Logan who yelped, "Its okay mom!" then said, "What's happening? Are we here?"

"No you big dim-wit. That's 602 miles or 969 km. But something is wrong," reacted Lillian.

"Oh. Because for a second, I thought we were here already. But what's wrong? What do you mean?"

"Something doesn't feel right on this bus. I sense it, but I can't pinpoint exactly what's wrong," I cut in.

"Ooook then. I don't know what you mean by sensing something wrong and then pinpointing it but whatever," sighed Logan who started to close his eyes. Lillian caught him closing his eyes and then kicked him in his shins.

"Ow!" yelled Logan. "That hurt!"

"Sorry," though Lillian didn't sound very sorry. "I was making sure you weren't falling asleep on something important like this. If Christina and I sense something that feels out of the ordinary or something doesn't look right or seem right, that usually means we're in danger."

"Yeah. Anyways. You guys can keep sensing. I'm just going to sit-," he started.

"No you're not Logan! You agreed to come on this quest so you're going to help!" hissed Lillian.

"Ok, ok. Don't get all huffy. I was just saying that I would _like_ to sit back while you guys did the sensing. Then if a monster came, we could just kill it."

"Doesn't work that way Logan. Sometimes the monster will stalk you until its sure and then it will try to pull tricks. Duh," I grumbled.

"Fine. Then what's wrong?" he asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out genius," I growled.

"Right." I looked around and I noticed something that did seem unusual. It had gotten really silent downstairs. The other passengers also hadn't come upstairs yet. I kind of figured that they would. The snack bar was opened but there was no person behind the counter.

"Liam, where's the snack bar person?"

He shrugged.

"He went around to the other side. I mean, this is one of those wrap around counters so it wraps around the oval wall which I can't see around," he replied.

"Right."

I listened to hear anything downstairs.

Silence.

"Doesn't it seem quiet? A little _too_ quiet?" I asked the others. Lillian and Liam nodded. Logan looked mystified but I could tell from the expression on his face, that he was trying listen also and figure out what else was wrong. Finally, he answered.

"Yep. It sure does seem quiet. What's up with that?"

"I don't know. Lets check downstairs. See if anything is out of the ordinary down there too."

"Ok," answered Logan.

We crept downstairs and when we got down there, something surprised us. All the passengers where crammed in the back seat with a look of terror on their face. They seemed to be looking behind us. We looked back and saw what they were looking at. Our first two monsters. They were humanoid creatures with reptilian features and where their feet should have been, were two twin serpent tails. Both were slithering and walking down the aisle and going in between the seats, checking the passengers bags.

"What. Are. Those. Things?" drawled Logan nervously.

"Scythian dracaenae," I replied.

"In English," whispered Logan. I thought for a second.

"Snake women or dragon women."

"Well let's hope there's only two and if so, lets just kill it," Logan replied. That's when Logan's hopes of there only being one was crushed. Just then three more stood came out between the seats, obviously they had been bending over, snuffling other bags.

"Di immortales!" Liam cursed.

"Great. Now there's five. What are we going to do?" Logan whined. I exchanged glances with Lillian and Liam and they seemed to understand. We would all take one and I would take two. Lillian leaned over and whispered the plan in Logan's ear and his eyes slowly widened but quickly were replaced with slits as if he were mad at them because they had done something to him.

"Ok?" she questioned. He nodded. They both went to their backpacks to retrieve their swords. I grabbed my trident clip from my hair and it turned into a sword. I slapped my hand on my watch. As it turned in midair, it morphed into a silver shield and landed on my arm. I looked to see if Logan and Liam were ready. Lillian took a bracelet out and tossed in mid-air. It turned into a shield and attached itself to her arm.

I nodded encouragingly to Logan who looked a little nervous. One of the dracaenae looked up and saw us, its mouth breaking into a grin.

"Three demigodsssss and one child of two different godsssss," it hissed, drawing the 's' out. "Interesssting."

I growled in the back of my throat.

Then, we charged.


	14. The Hotel of Rodeway?

**We Find the Hotel of…Rodeway?**

**Logan:**

Now, charging a monster that I haven't even heard of before was a bit crazy. After being called an idiot and Christina gaining up on me on the train, I thought, well maybe I could prove them wrong. When we charged the dracanae, I was scared to death.

"Logan, I have a different job for you," Christina said as she dodged one of the dracaenae's swords.

"An important job." She paused for a second and when the first dracaenae swung her sword, Christina got inside her swipe and stabbed her in the chest. The dracaenae wailed in pain and turned into sand that blew away.

"I need you to get all the passengers off the bus just incase something happens to this bus," she continued, deflecting the second dracanae sword.

"Why do I get the stupid job?" I complained to her.

"Just do it Logan! If this bus blows up and we somehow miraculously survive, the explosion would kill the other passengers!"

"Oh right." Putting my sword down on a seat four rows from the battle, I retreated back and started telling the passengers we were in danger. They began trying to pry open the bus doors. The driver was in shock, but I shook him out of it and he opened the doors. All the passengers came rushing off the bus and I realized that some of them had their luggage and some didn't. I looked back at Christina, Liam and Lillian and saw that the other passengers luggage was near the front, behind my sister. I rushed towards the back of the bus and began grabbing peoples luggage. Once I had everyone else's luggage, I headed back towards the front and chucked them out of the busses doors. I chucked the little girls bag out and she tried to catch it as if she were catching a huge ball, but instead it smacked her in the face and she laughed.

_Odd_, I thought.

Then, I heard a screech and when I looked back, the third dracaenae had been killed. But there was still two left. One had managed to get behind Christina and Lillian. I was about to warn them to turn around, but they had it under control. Christina shouted something to Lillian in Ancient Greek and Lillian stopped battling and grabbed our packs. She looked at me and I understood. She threw the packs and I caught them just as Christina killed the fourth dracaenae. I was about to turn around and set our packs outside when the fifth dracaenae got tired of fighting Christina and turned on me. It lunged and terror seized my body. I thought, _I'm going to die._ Then I did something I hadn't planned to do. My mind took over my body and went autopilot. I sidestepped and chucked our packs out the door hastily and grabbed my sword. I advanced leisurely and the dracanae hissed with excitement.

"What are you doing Logan!" screamed Lillian. "It's going to kill you!" Lillian raised her sword and was about to attack, but Christina held out her arm, stopping Lillian. It was a clear sign. She was going to let me take on the dracaenae. Then, it lunged again, swinging her sword. I deflected and she hissed, swiping at my head. I ducked just in time as her sword whisteled overhead. The dracaenae feinted a head swipe and I fell for it. I ducked and befor I knew it, she struck me hard and I went flying back.

"Man I hate it when that happens," I growled. I was so mad that I had fell for a trick like that, that I got up and with effort, and stabbed forward at the dracaenae. It hit her chest and she wailed, bursting into flames. When the flames had sputtered out, I dropped my sword and but my hands on my knees, breathing hard.

"Whoa. I didn't know that when you get hit hard and land on your back, it can make you tired," I gasped.

"Uh, no Logan. Your tired because you were scared and you had been getting people off the bus, getting bags, hauling them to door before you chucked them out of the bus to the passengers. Then you automatically jumped into battle," explained Christina.

"Well, I can't believe I fell for that trick that the dracaenae played on me," I answered, retrieving my sword and standing up.

"Logan, don't be too hard on yourself. You only trained for five days. Besides, knowing if your opponent is going to fake you out takes years of practice," Liam answered.

"Come on. Let's get going. We're going to have to travel on foot now," Christina said.

"Why do we need to travel on foot? I mean, here's a bus that's undamaged and yet, you're saying we have to walk?" I asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

"Because if we stay on the same bus, monsters will attack. It's like sending up a flare. We just killed some monsters because the monsters knew there were demigods on this bus. Even worse, there was more than one. There was _five_," she growled.

"Well excuse me. I didn't know," I said angrily. We got off the bus and got our bags. Christina flipped her sword and instead of turning it into the trident clip and her shield was back on her wrist. She was making sure that she had everything.

"The mortals are going berserk," I said to her.

"Yeah, I noticed." She looked up and saw the two kids running around and waving their hands in the air screaming, "Monsters! Monsters! There are monsters and terrorists! There were swords and shields and bags flying! Also there was…," they stopped running around and paused. They said with a questioning tone, "Sand?" Then they kept running around screaming the same thing over and over again until I had memorized it. Finally after about three minutes of saying it, they ran straight into one another. I looked at Christina. She had an eyebrow raised and she said, "Not very bright are they?" She zipped up her backpack and she peered down the road. I looked and saw in a distance that there were red and blue lights flashing and a siren going.

"Cops," we said in unison. "And maybe an ambulance," Christina added.

"Well we can't just stand here. What about the other people? You think the cops are gonna believe them?" I questioned.

"I know that we can't just stand around. Just hold on a second. I'll deal with the other people," she glanced at the lights, "and the police."

"How?" I asked. "There is _no_ way that you can do that. As awesome as you are with all your fighting, dealing with the cops in a conversation is impossible. What are you going to do? Magically pull out coffee and doughnuts, and give it to them so they can get hyped up on it so much, that they believe you?"

She looked at me and said sarcastically, "Yeah. I'm going to give them lots of caffeine and sugar so that they can be all hyper and stupid. That's an interesting hypothesis." Then her face turned all serious. "Really Logan? You are such an idiot." She looked away from me and about a minute later, the cops had arrived. They got out of the car and saw that the other people were going berserk. When one cop saw that us three kids were the only who weren't, he walked up to us and said, "What is going on?"

"I don't know," I said.

"Mmmm."

"Ask the passengers," Christina piped in.

"See what they say. They are completely going out of their minds," added Lillian.

The cop walked back to his fellow friends who were talking with some of the passengers. The cops exchanged a few words and then they all walked to us.

"Great," I murmured to my sister and Lillian. "We're so going to get arrested."

"The other cops have just informed me that they say some of the passengers are talking about weapons, shields and…monsters?" Before we could reply, the old grandma came up and said in a raspy voice, "Those three kids came down from the second floor of the bus and they had weapons. The killed four monsters, and tossed our luggage out of the bus." She pointed at me and continued. "He told us to get off the bus because we were in danger. Then he got on and killed a monster." She pointed at Christina and Lillian. "They had shields and huge daggers. They turned the monsters to sand." The woman turned back on me and added to the cops, "And he chucked a bag at the girl and it hit her in the face. The girl laughed." The old grandma nodded at the cops and walked away. The cops turned on us.

"So. You killed some monsters. I'm afraid that the old ladies mind is mixed up. There is no such thing as monsters."

"You'd be surprised," I murmured so quietly that they didn't hear the comment.

"By all means, you were carrying weapons and you killed some passengers. Under all circumstances, you must be arrested." That's when Christina stepped forward and did something so weird, I thought I was hallucinating. She snapped her fingers and the sound was sharp, loud and clear and it rippled from her fingers, stirring some leaves on the ground.

"Oh but officers, there was a small fire that happened in the back and we smelled the smoke upstairs. So we came down, found sand and dumped on the fire to stop it. There was no weapons involved and we are not under arrest," Christina said. The cops looked a little dazed and they nodded.

"Of course there was no weapons. Why would we arrest you? How silly of us. You guys were just trying to put out a fire. We should be going now," they said. Then they got back in their car and sped away. The other passengers looked dazed too. Their eyes looked a little dreamy and a minute later, it passed.

"What are we doing outside of the bus?" one questioned.

"Yes. Shouldn't we be traveling?" another said. All heads nodded and they filed back on. The engine started and with a jolt, the bus began to leave. As it drove down the road, I looked at Christina in surprised.

"You snap your fingers and they listen?" I questioned.

"Logan, when I snapped my fingers, the Mist covered up the incident," she said.

"Oh the thing that hides the mythological world from the mortal world? We see monsters but they see something else and it can fool demigods also and very few mortals can see through it?" I questioned.

She nodded and started walking.

* * *

After 45 minutes of walking along a road silently and figuring that if we followed it, the road would end up at a city considering the bus had passed several, we stopped by a small forest. We went into the forest just a little so that we could still see the road. I sat down and sighed with exhaustion. My feet were hurting and so was my back. Leaning up against a tree, I watched Lillian pull out a Greek mythology book and start reading. Liam climbed up into a tree to keep watch but I think he fell asleep or was thinking about him dying. Meanwhile, Christina had pulled out a pen, piece of paper and a book to write on and was tapping her pen against her paper. The look on her face obviously showed that she was thinking.

"What are you trying to think about?" I asked out of curiosity. She didn't answer me. All she did was look at me, and then go back to Thinking Land. After a few minutes of sitting down I asked Lillian what she was reading. However, she was so intent on reading, she didn't answer either, probably lost in Ancient Greek Book Land, or Brainiac Land.

Finally I couldn't stand the thought of being ignored. So I got up told Christina and Lillian I'd be back (of course they didn't say anything and probably didn't register my words too) and wandered off into the small forest. As I walked I had an inner conversation with myself (yes I know that's kind of weird and everything, but hey, when you just finished fighting a monster and are being ignored by two girls who are in Thinking and Brainiac Land, then you would be doing the same thing). I thought to myself (a negative thing unfortunately), _Well I guess we're lost in some random state, and don't even know how we're going to get west now. Why'd did I even sign up for this quest. This quest is worthless, suicidal, idiotic, and Christina and Lillian are no help. And speaking of Christina…_

"Shut up,"I said to myself. "Stop thinking negative. Oh you're going to do is scare yourself and make a total fool of yourself."

_But what if Christina gets us all killed_," thought the negative side of me. _If you're dead, the camp won't know, only the gods. Think about your mom. If you were to die, what would your mom do? What would she say?_ That's when the positive side of me kicked in.

_Mr. Negative_, scolded the positive side. _Stop it! You're scaring Logan! Besides, Christina won't get him killed because she _knows_ what she is doing. So, Logan, just listen to the good, positive side of yourself._

_Shut it Mr. Positive! Don't listen to Mr. Positive. All he's trying to do is make you feel better and forget what could happen. What if you trusted him and Christina gets you killed? Hmmm? What you got to say about that when you're, er, in the Underworld? Listen to me and you'll live and understand what is right and what is wrong instead of listening to Mr. Positive who is always joyful, annoying, positive and…_

_That says a lot about you Mr. Negative! _Cut in my positive side. _Anyways Logan, if you don't listen to me, Mr. Negative will instead of making you understand what is right and what is wrong, will make you think wrong is right and right is wrong. Even worse, he could lead you to a quicker and painful death. Me. I would lead you the right way, not have you killed, and you would _actually_ know what is wrong and what is right. Just ignore Mr. Negative. He's just jealous that I'm smarter, happier, always right and that I'm more good looking than he is_ _(like literally because when you do something bad, you're bad looking. Vise versa if you do something good. You're good looking when you do something good.)_

Here I was, sitting here in the middle of a small forest while my inner negative and positive side fought over who I should listen to. This was not going well. If I didn't choose, I would end up having a war inside myself. That meant if I did have a war with myself, I'd end up…ah, never mind.

"This is so dumb," I told myself. "Here you are being told what to do by yourself and yet you're still talking to yourself, like right now."

_Are you saying that Mr. Positive is dumb? Because if you are, that means you're listening to me. So, right now, how about we walk and find our way back to Camp-Half Blood where you can make up some brave, heroic lie on how Christina, Liam and Lillian died, and how you tried to save them from some monster. Then you can say how you revenged_ _their death by heroically and bravely destroying the monster. How about that? So lets leave right now Logan._

_Hold on one second,_ considered the positive side_. First, Mr. Negative, stop giving him ideas. Second, Logan, listen. If you do that, they could always Iris-message them and see if its true or the gods could send a sign or dream saying if its true or not. Besides, Chiron would now that would be impossible. He knows Christina and Lillian are the best fighters. If you just stay on the quest, believe that Christina, Liam and Lillian will help you and that you guys will survive, then you will be a hero in the end. You will have saved Alethia and you would have made a closer bond with Christina, Lillian and the camp instead of not having a bond at all. But most importantly, you'll make a great bond with Christina since she is your sister._

_Ok, I'm leaving_…, I thought.

_Yay! You're listening to me! _partied the negative side._ First lets leave the forest and find a bus station so we can…_

_and going back to Christina and Lillian so we can figure something out_, I finished the rest of my thought.

_What!_ screeched the negative side of me in my head. _I thought we were going…_

_Finally, its about time you choose_, cut in the positive side. _Lets get going!_

I walked back the way I came and when I found Christina and Lillian, they were still in their little lands. I came up to the big, thick tree Christina was leaning against, and sat next to her. I would try asking again and see if I could at _least_, get Christina to talk.

"So, um, what exactly are you doing?"

Christina looked at me and sighed, putting her pen down on the paper.

"I was hoping that you wouldn't ask again but unfortunately you will ask over and over until we give some kind of stupid answer," she replied.

"Well isn't that a nice compliment of you. Glad you noticed," I grumbled.

"You're impossible," she retorted.

"Right, anyways," I said. I glanced casually at her paper (I'm usually not nosy but I was just wondering since I was sitting there with the paper next to me in Christina's lap). Across the top, it said, 'Remembrance of My Past'. I was about to ask what that meant when it hit me. _I don't remember anything about my past except for the one year of living with Lillian, _echoed the memory that Christina had told me at dinner four days ago. And here was the same paper that I saw this morning when we talked.

"You're trying to figure out your past, again" I said. "The year before you and Lillian ran away. The year before you and Lillian were living together." Christina took a deep breath and she turned on me. Her expression was pain, anger and hatred. Mostly anger and hatred. I thought for a second that I had said the wrong thing and that she was going to sock me in the gut or something. But it subsided a little.

"Its none…yeah. I, uh, just…yeah. I guess. Just trying to figure out my past," she stuttered.

"Why?" I questioned. Then I realized that was a stupid question. "I mean, why do you want to try to figure out your past when there is nothing there?" I corrected quickly.

Christina glared at me and I wished I hadn't said anything.

"Why Logan? Because, my past is important and I have a bad feeling that my past has to do with something in the future."

"I know you kind of explained it to me this morning, but still," I answered.

Christina sighed. Then she said miserably. "What am I doing? This quest seems so…useless. Like there's no point to it. What if I'm leading you and Lillian into a trap? What happens if it all comes down to me making one simple choice? One that either destroys Alethia or me? Even worse, all of us."

I was silent because I wasn't sure how to approach this matter with an answer to comfort her. That's when Lillian finally looked up from her Greek book and spoke. But I didn't understand a single word because unfortunately, she spoke in Ancient Greek and I hadn't learned the language yet. Ok, let me rephrase that. I only caught some words because the day after I had been claimed, Lillian and Christina had been teaching me some small words in Ancient Greek. All I caught was, "Parents…trap…something about me…," which kind of bothered me. "Alethia…Lynch…powerful…gods die…," and a line from the prophecy that disturbed me. "Underground releasing rage upon us."

"Um, not to interrupt the Greek conversation, but, uh could someone explain to me what you are saying and talking about?" As the usual, they both glared at me, but I was beginning to get use to it so it had somewhat effect.

"Hey I only got a few days of learning Greek words so don't expect me to know what you're saying," I quickly finished. They didn't tell me though. Christina nodded at Lillian and they began to pack there stuff.

"Lets go," Lillian said. "We need to find a town or city or whatever to rest in, at least."

"Lillian's correct," was the only reply that came from Christina before she headed out of the forest, following the road. Lillian shrugged and followed her, me falling in step behind her. We walked in awkward silence and I guess I was playing the safe card of not saying anything. After about fifteen minutes of no talking, we passed a sign. I tried to focus on what it said, but the letters started floating off of the sign.

"What does that say?" I asked.

"I don't know," growled Christina.

"What do you me-," I started to say. "Oh yeah. That's right. Were all dyslexic." As smart as Christina and Lillian were (that's not saying I'm stupid and an idiot. Its just saying that, Christina and Lillian are smarter than me. I guess it cause of Athena being their mom), they were dyslexic like me and when they try to read lots of English, the words and letter float off the paper, sign or whatever they're reading. I saw Christina trying to focus on it.

"I think it says…," she stopped and stared in disbelief. "Dillsburg, Pennsylvania? And its…," she stopped again. "two miles away? That's about a 40 minute walk" She looked back at us and stared. "From Hoboken to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, that's, 3 hours and about 20 minutes away. Dang."

I rolled my eyes this time, muttering, "Brainiac Mathemetician."

"Dumbnuts," Lillian hissed. I glared at her the best I could and she met my sea-green eyes with cold, hard gray ones.

As we walked, we talked about sword moves and me and Christina told Lillian about the school that we both had gone to.

"I had my suspicions about you being a demigod. Especially when you did the thing at Water Park with the water," Christina admitted.

"Oh, yeah. I wasn't quite sure about how I did that," I said scratching the back of my head.

"What thing with the water at the Water Park?" questioned Lillian, mystified. We explained it and Liam dropped in on the conversation to listen. He hadn't talked much during the quest. When we were done, Lillian chuckled.

"Interesting. Oh look. We're here."

I looked ahead and saw that she was correct. The town loomed in front of us and making everything seem welcoming. We walked through the town looking at different, 'You Are Here' maps and seeing where a hotel was. There was only one hotel which was kind of weird: Rodeway Inn. We followed the maps and finally we found the inn.

"Pretty. Very, very fancy," I said sarcastically. The Rodeway Inn had a big road that lead to it and a huge sign with a little bush near. Across the street was a long blue and white, two story floor 'hotel'. I guess you can't really call it a hotel if its only got two floors. Anyways, at the end on the left side of the inn was a small looking house. Figuring that that was the check-in and check-out center, we headed that way. We walked inside and asked the lady behind the counter what the price was. She told us it depends on how long we were staying with a breezy smile. And then all four of us had a silent, quick conversation.

Me: _You ask her Lillian. Christina has done most of the talking._

Lillian: _No! You ask her!_

Me: _Why me! Make Liam do it!_

Liam: _Really Logan? Do I _look_ like I've been talking much all day?_

Christina: _He's got a point._

Liam:_ Logan just do it._

Me:_ Like I said, why me?_

Christina:_ Well for one thing, I'm certainly not doing it._

Lillian: _Just do it Logan! You've done barely anything except for fight one dracaenae._

She gave me the perfect ten glare and I knew it was helpless to argue.

"Um, we'll book a room for one night, and uh…what are the other options?" I said uneasily.

"Well, option 1 is: two double beds, newer room, drive-up, remote control TV, and radio-alarm clock. Option 2 is: two double beds, no smoking, newer room, free high-speed wireless, and remote control TV. Option 3: 1 king bed, no smoking, first floor, coffee maker in room, and iron and ironing board," she said.

"We'll take, uh, option…two please," I replied slowly.

"Ok. That's 60$, please sir." I looked at Christina and she dug out the money. I gave it the lady. "Here's your card. Room 2-11 and if you have any questions just call us. The numbers in the room," she finished. We thanked her and left the little house.

"So how do we know which room is 2-11?" I asked stupidly.

"You are _sooo_ stupid! The 'two' stands for second floor. The 'eleven' stands for room eleven…on the second floor! Both floors have 13 rooms making it 26 total. DUH Logan!" Christina said matter-of-factly.

"SHUT UP Christina! All you've been doing is complaining about me!" I interjected.

"DEAL WITH IT THEN!" she said angrily.

We slipped the card into the slot and went into the room. There was a counter on right side and a TV on the left with three chairs and a table a foot away. As you walked through that room, on your left was a huge room that contained two beds that would hold two maybe three people. The window in there showed the sign outside. On the other side of the room was the bathroom. When you come out of the bedroom, straight ahead was a smaller room with two light brown, small sofa chairs and a small, four foot long glass table in the middle of both chairs. On the wall above the chairs were two pictures of flowers and a mirror that showed the other end of the small room. Behind the chairs was a short wall and then a small space with a window. Other side of the room also had a window. Christina suggested that we should move the TV and put it in the smaller room so we could sit in the chairs; making room for the so-called kitchen.

We began moving the TV and the dresser that it was sitting on. Thank the gods the dresser was light. After we were finished we decided to explore the room. In the refrigerator, we found all kinds of sodas, we found propel, Gatorade and water. In one of the super small cupboards, we found all sorts of different candies. Then in another super small cupboard, we found different kinds of chips

"Good grief!" exclaimed Lillian. "Do they have them in all of the rooms?"

"Probably," Christina replied. We all had grabbed a coke and I took a three musketeers bar from the cupboard. Lillian had grabbed jelly beans while Christina had grabbed chips and they were sharing both things. For 20 minutes, Christina and Lillian went over the Ancient Greek with me and Liam helped. That was the only sound that filled the afternoon air inside the so-called 'hotel'; the sound of the chip bag crumpling every time we reached to grab one, jelly beans being pushed around inside the bag, clinks of soda cans be put on the glass table and the words of Ancient Greek. After we were done Christina started a conversation which felt good to speak in English because my sister and Lillian forced me to keep talking in Greek.

"Remember Iris-messaging Alethia?" we nodded. "And since we couldn't see who was in the image, we listened?" we nodded again. "Did you guys hear any other voice besides Alethia's?"

I thought for a moment and I could tell that Lillian was trying to remember also.

"No," Lillian decided. "I didn't hear any other voices because I was too busy on making shut-up motions to Logan."

"Yeah, which was nice of you," I retorted sarcastically.

"Whatever. Why Christina?" she answered.

"Because, I heard another voice. Then that night, Apollo cabin informed me that Lynch was missing also, remember? Well, I think that the other voice in the Iris-message," she stopped with eyes wide. I found myself and Lillian leaning forward in anticipation. Liam was studying Christina with concern. "I think that other voice was…Lynch's voice," she finished. Lillian leaned back and closed her eyes, sighing.

"How can that be possible? I mean…," the thought finally occurred to Lillian and her eyes shot open. "No! What was he thinking? Christina! If Alethia disappeared and when we Iris-message her, Lynch's voice was in the background, that means the enemy took Alethia _and_ Lynch. Or maybe Lynch went looking for Alethia and fell into a trap like he…," Lillian stopped abruptly and glanced at me. She looked at Christina whose face darkened. Liam turned his head. Lillian shook her head and Christina face turned grim.

"What? What do you mean he fell into a trap like he…what?" I questioned.

"Wh-when we were on t-the run," stammered Lillian. "Me and Christina began to become…well not shy, but untrustworthy of them. We didn't trust anyone. Only one another. We relied on one another. But that all changed when we met Alethia. We at first didn't trust her until she saved our lives. Then Lynch came along later. Me and Christina didn't trust him but something between him and Alethia were up." Lillian didn't say what but I had a feeling that when she or Christina was ready to tell me, they would. And I had a sneaking suspicion that Liam knew also.

"So after awhile, we began to all trust one another. Soon it was just us four on the run. But about four and a half months passed and Lynch became reckless…and I'm not saying why. I will explain later." When Lillian said later, I knew she wasn't talking about later in the story, she was talking about later when we were like a year older.

"As soon as he became reckless, he began to walk into traps, putting me, Alethia and Christina in danger," she continued quietly. I looked at Christina with surprise. "You, in danger?" I tilted back my head slightly and laughed. "You? Really? You're like the greatest…greatest…," my voice faltered and I stopped smiling and grinning as she gave me the perfect ten death stare. "What? Just trying to compliment," I said. She kept giving me the look and I decided to shut up.

"Yeah. Me in danger, Logan. I was young. New to monsters and all that. Besides, the danger we got into were very, very and I mean very dangerous. Okay I lied kind of. It wasn't that bad. It was just very dangerous but to me, Lillian, Lynch and Alethia at the time, it was," she replied, rolling her eyes at me.

_Christina seems to roll her eyes a lot when its one of those, 'duh' moments or something else_," I noticed._ From now on, I'm going to keep a record on how many times she rolls her eyes at me in one day. _I almost said the thought, but considered better of it. Instead I said cautiously (afraid that she would kick me in the shin), "Oh. Yeah. I guess." Christina studied my face for a second and then checked her watch.

"Its three," she said. "Whatcha guys want to do? I mean, its not like we can train in this room unless we moved everything and closed the curtains. Even if we did that, if there are neighbors next door, they'll be wondering and so will the lady at the check-in and check-out center. We might even break something."

"Watch TV?" I suggested. "Or can't we not do that since it might attract monsters like when you're using a cell phone and a computer?"

"No, we can watch TV," Lillian said.

"Awesome." I grabbed the remote on the table and switched the TV on. I flipped through the channels as Christina searched through her backpack and brought out an iPod touch, 32 GB. Liam had his out also.

"Wait a second," I said slowly. "Won't that also attract monsters?"

"Nah. They don't have the connection like a cell phones and computers do. Now if you have a iPhone, then yeah, we can't have those either. Get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah." I turned my eyes back to the TV while Christina listened to music and played games on her Itouch. Lillian, of course, was reading her book, glancing up every now and then to watch TV for a second. Around five thirty, we went to one of the fast food places across the street and ate dinner. It was crowded though I didn't mind and neither did the Christina or Lillian. Finally we got our food after waiting for fifteen minutes. While we were eating, we laughed and shared funny memories. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was going on eight fifteen. We each took a shower which felt good even though we hadn't been traveling for very long. But after walking for almost half the day, and fighting monsters, I was feeling gross (and if you think I'm meticulous, I'm not!). We were all finished around nine but only one stupid problem…

"So, who's sleeping on the beds tonight?" I asked.

"I don't know."

I took a look at the couches and sat in one. They were pretty comfy for a standard, two story hotel.

"I'll take the couches. You three can figure out the bed problem."

"You sure?" Lillian said. I guess they hadn't been expecting such an easy choice from me. But there was also another reason why had chosen the chairs instead of the beds. I nodded and Lillian looked at me then glanced at Christina. Christina said that was the first time I hadn't argued about something so simple. I told her she'd pay for that but Lillian said yeah right.

I took to the couches and I guess Lillian and Christina decided to sleep in one of the double beds which were surprisingly wide enough for the two sisters to sleep on either side, not making it look werid. Liam would take the other bed. But before he went to sleep, he tossed me the second pillow, stating he didn't need it. I thanked him.

Now you're probably wondering why I choose the couches so easily. Reason 1: I needed time to think and clear my mind, away from Christina and Lillian (basically meaning, not being in the same room). Reason 2: I needed to think about _just_ the dreams I had been recently having. After switching off the lights, I laid there, bathed in moonlight that was flowing through the window. I looked out across the driveway of the hotel and thought about, if I met my dad, what would I say? What would I think of him? What would he say to me? After a while, I checked the time and it was late. I looked back out the medium size window and slowly, but gradually, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier until I was sleeping.

**A/N: Long chapter I know. Probably not that interesting but review and subscribe please. :)**


	15. I'm Nearly Frozen into A Logancicle

**Logan:**

First thing that got me up was the smell of chocolate chip waffles. My eyes shot open and I saw Lillian and Christina making breakfast. I threw off the covers and somehow, Christina heard me. I guess its because she's part animal.

"Morning Logan. Glad you're up. I was just about to come and wake you up." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and got off the couch. I noticed Liam wasn't at the table so I figured he was still crashed. But the smell of the waffles was making my mouth water. I took a look outside. It was a nice day. The sun was bright and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. In the meantime, Christina had loaded a plate of stacked waffles and set them on the table with three other plates and silverware. I poured my syrup and dug in. Mmmm. Just perfect. The waffle itself was nice and fluffy, and not hard and crispy. The chips melted in my mouth and the warmth spread through my body. I drank some milk and when I had finished my second waffle and had gone through another glass of milk, Liam was just waking up. I sat back in my chair, starring out the window again.

"What's the time Christina?" I said, still not taking my eyes off the window.

"Nine thirty," she replied.

"And I'm still pretty tired," Liam added sleepily.

"What time are we leaving?" Christina and Lillian glanced at one another.

"As soon as possible," answered Lillian instead.

"Why are we in such a hurry to get out of this place?" I asked.

"Because our scent for monsters," Christina and Lillian said together.

"Right. I keep forgetting about all this stuff," I said.

"No worries," Lillian replied.

Liam and Christina glanced at one another worriedly and became suddenly quiet. He gave her a questioning look and she nodded.

"I heard it," she murmured. He nodded in agreement as she stood and dumped her plate in the sink. Liam finished and the rest of us followed her lead. I got dressed in the bedroom while Christina and Lillian got our stuff packed. Once we had finished, we checked out and began walking.

As we walked, Christina kept nervously glancing back and she had her hand on her dagger. Liam was walking next to her and they talked quietly. Both looked slightly nervous. Lillian studied through narrow eyes and I had a feeling that she was sensing danger. After a while we began to follow a road that lead out of town. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore and got the nerve to ask Christina why she kept looking back. She didn't answer me so I decided to let it drop considering she had her hand on her dagger and any minute if I crossed the line, she would pull her dagger on me and gut me like a fish. After what seemed like hours, we settled down underneath some trees.

"I'll go see if there is any signs nearby or small off-the-road fast food places or whatever. Let you two have some quality time together to discuss things," Lillian said smirking.

"Oh no you don't!" answered Christina hastily. "I have had enough quality time with him by being in the same cabin. Why don't I do some scouting while _you_ have some quality time with him instead."

"Fine then," Lillian said. "But you can't take Liam for safety."

Christina left with Liam and after a few minutes of silence I asked Lillian something that I would never have the nerve to ask Christina. Also I kind of figured that Lillian would be able to explain since she knew Christina better than anyone.

"I have some questions to ask you," I told Lillian.

"Yeah."

"Why has Christina convinced herself that she wasn't meant to be born? What happened when you guys ran away? Why doesn't she remember any thing of her past? And my last question, what exactly is said when she fights with her parents?" I looked at Lillian and she closed her eyes. She made a three finger claw, crossed it over her heart and then pushed out. It was ancient looking. Like an old gesture to ward off something.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Wards of evil," she replied opening her eyes.

"Oh. So anyways. The questions?" Lillian was silent for a few seconds before she decided to answer.

"Christina convinced herself that she was never meant to be born because…wait, hasn't she already told you this?" Lillian said frowning.

"She told me why she _thinks _she wasn't meant to be born but I'm wondering why has she convinced herself of that?"

"She convinced herself that she wasn't meant to be born because of Athena kind of breaking her rule to be an internal maiden like Artemis who doesn't have kids. Then of course Amphitrite and all the other gods. She's also convinced herself that she was never meant to be born is because she thinks her parents don't care and that she is too powerful. And if she is too powerful, that can cause a battle that leads lots of people to death if an enemy attacks I'm guessing. Its one of those subjects that you have to ask her about," she explained.

"Oh. What about, 'what happened when you guys when away?" Lillian's face darkened.

"A subject that would have to be discussed with Christina here actually," she said. I was silent.

"Now about why she doesn't remember anything from her past, the closest answer we can figure out is that, one: she hasn't forgotten. Two: her memory hasn't been wiped clean. We know this because she feels that when she closes to something about her past, she feels that something is missing there like a missing piece from a puzzle."

"Is it possible to wipe somebody's memory clean? I mean, I know the River Lethe in the Underworld can wipe your memory permanently clean and you can't get the memories back but not with Christina right?" I asked. Lillian shook her head.

"Ok. So we know that she hasn't forgotten or that her memory wasn't wiped clean. What else?" I asked.

"Well this one is gonna sound crazy but we think that's what happened. Third, we think that the gods or one of the gods took her memories of the past before me," Lillian continued.

"What? That's possible!" I exclaimed with surprise.

"Yeah. If the gods or a god in particular take your memory, they're the only ones who can give it back," answered Lillian.

"So who do you think took them," I reckoned. Lillian looked at me and lowered her voice.

"I think…I think, th-that her parents t-took them for a reason," she stuttered.

"What?" I said nearly yelling.

"Shhhh! Not so loud Logan!" she hissed. "But yes, I think her parents took them for a reason and I told Christina my reasoning and she's said that she had been thinking that for a while."

I let out a whistle. Then I replied, "And the last question?"

"I will not talk about that one," she answered firmly.

"And why is that Lillian? Because you've never been there when it happens? Because you don't know and you're just saying? Or is it because-,"

"No! Why would I make something up? I've been there when it happens! I do know and not just saying! I personally think you don't know the difference between someone being serious and someone being funny," she interrupted. I wasn't sure what I was going to say next but I was saved when Christina and Liam appeared.

"Any luck?" Lillian asked.

"No," Christina said.

"Well then, let's just keep moving," I said.

* * *

As the day wore on, and the sun got higher, we would stop from time to time to rest before we would venture on again. At one point, when we were resting, I thought I had seen something in the trees. But when I tried to get a clearer look, it had disappeared. As we walked, we would talk about different things. By one, we were hot and tired. So far, we hadn't reached any towns or cities and by now, I was thinking at this rate, we were never going to get anywhere. Finally, I asked if we could stop for a minute or two. Christina looked at Liam and Lillian and saw how tired they were.

"Yeah, I guess," was her only answer. We sat down on some rocks by a river and rested, drinking some water. Then we decided we'd better refill the bottles since we were by the river.

"How do you know if its clean or not?" Lillian asked cautiously as me and Christina waded into the river.

"Because I can tell if it's clean or not," Christina replied. "Besides, I can always filter it with my powers."

"Same here," I said. "It looks clean, feels clean…" I drank some river water. "And tastes clean."

"Fine," Lillian answered. We filled the bottles and sat back down. We didn't have to worry about drying off because being the son and daughter of Poseidon, you basically rule over the water. We sat in awkward silence, not knowing what to say to one another. Liam was a bit pale for no reason. Finally, Lillian was the first to speak.

"Christina, should we tell Logan what's been happening?"

"About the…," Christina trailed off and Lillian nodded her head grimly.

"What has been happening?" I asked.

"Yeah, _that_."

"Are you sure we should Lillian," Christina said.

"What has been happening?" I asked again.

"I'm sure because if we don't and something happens-," Lillian said.

"Ok if you're going to tell me what has been happening, then get on with it!" I snapped.

Christina and Lillian glared at me and I tried my best to not cringed away. When Lillian glares at you, its like she is slapping you across the face hard. When Christina does it, its like she hitting you with a hundred volts. But when they both do it, you seem like you're a cornered, useless animal that is about to be slapped before being fried by Christina's hundred-volts-stare.

"Whatever," growled Lillian. "Me and Christina have been having dreams and you know the more dangerous a situation is, the more vivid the dreams are."

"Yeah."

"Well, just recently, I had a dream about Alethia and someone else. Its kind of like the Iris-message but this time I could see slightly clearer and hear some of the conversation. Alethia seemed to be running from someone or something, yelling at the other person. However, a big hand appeared out of no where and grabbed her. Then the dream shifted and she was talking to the other person. All I caught was, "So why did you take me?"

The other person said, "Because it's for the bait. They'll take it and we will overrun them. So you're very useful. Cooperate, and their lives will be spared. If you don't, then well, lets say it won't be pretty." And that's it. My dream faded," answered Lillian. I turned to my sister and said, "What about yours?"

"I think hers is a little more…interesting and weird," Lillian cut in.

"I guess you could say that Lillian," Christina said. "Anyways, in my dream, I was in the Underworld. And don't ask me how I knew. I guess it was the stench of death, it was hot and I saw the River Styx, and the Judgment Hall. Up ahead of me was Hades' palace. I went in and I heard Hades talking to the same voice that we heard in the Iris-message also. The voice said, "Join us and you'll be strong. If you hate the fact that the other gods turn on you, then help us and you'll be stronger and will be able to overthrow them." That's all I know," Christina said.

"So you're saying Alethia is the bait?" Liam asked. Christina and Lillian glanced at one another. Christina sighed.

"Yeah." She stood up and replied quickly, "We should get moving." It was obvious that she wanted to change the subject. Lillian nodded and they both started walking. I grabbed my stuff and headed after them. Finally, we saw a train station and Christina decided it would be best if we took a train as far as we could. We managed to get one all the way to one of the cities near the border of West Virginia. We got on and took off. When we got off the train we kept walking hopefully west.

* * *

By late afternoon, we were drenched like crazy, tired and hot. Finally, up ahead, Christina said she had spotted a three story abandoned house that we could probably use because it didn't look to beat up. When we reached the house, Lillian scouted around to make sure it was okay. When we went in, we were struck by how the house looked a little nicer than other abandoned houses. There were not a lot of cobwebs, just a few here and there, some parts in the wooden floor were broken, and some windows had some holes. Other than that, it was nice. The only disturbing thing was that there were frozen statues all over the room and they all had scared faces. I stopped and looked at one. It was a woman and she looked like she was screaming. Christina and Lillian came up behind me as Liam roamed around, muttering something about being killed and death traps.

"Doesn't this place seem a little…I don't know. Weird and disturbing?" Christina asked.

"Yeah. Should we stay?" I said

"Maybe. But seriously, the statues are starting to give me the creeps and not just that it's colder in here than normal houses," Lillian said.

"Well jeez, it's an abandoned house. What do you expect?" I answered sarcastically.

"Logan, why would it be cold in here when the air conditioner is not running, it's hot out and no one lives here?" Christina said matter-of-factly. She had gotten me.

"That's what I thought," she said.

"Whatever," I said angrily.

"Well if you're done fighting, lets split you up and explore the house," sighed Christina.

Lillian replied, "I'll keep looking around down here."

"I'll take the second level with Liam and Logan you can have the last level. Call if you need any help," Christina ordered.

"Why would we call for help? You said this place is abandoned," I asked. Liam shook his head as if saying, 'Don't question her like that unless you want to be skewered.' Christina glared at me and answered, "I have a bad feeling that the statues did not freeze because of some freak snow storm but because of something worse."

"Fine." I headed upstairs with Christina and Liam who stopped on the second level and wished me luck. As I descended to the third floor, I noticed that it was cold. I explored for a little bit and that's when I heard a scream downstairs. Then I heard yelling and pounding. Below me, Christina yell, "LOGAN!" I rushed out of the room and down the staircase. Right as I hit the last stair, Christina ran into me as Liam jumped five stairs and hit the ground on the first floor, running.

"It's Lillian. Something crept up on her and she's now trying to defend herself. I think it's a monster. We have to help her. Whatever the thing is, it's too big to fight inside so we have to try to force it outside," heaved Christina.

"Ok. What do we do?" I said.

"The thing won't go outside. It's going to be hard work to lure it outside. So what were going to do is kind of dangerous," she began. She told me her whole plan as quick as she could.

"Got it?" she questioned.

"Yeah, let's go." We charged down the stairs and Christina drew her bow. When we got down there Lillian was on one side of the room and the enemy was on the other. Whatever the thing was, it was huge. It kept trying to smash Lillian with its club and she kept having to dodge and roll out its way. At the same time, she was trying to attack it also. But I guess when something huge that's swinging a huge club, trying to defend yourself and attack it, is hard. Christina went straight to work on shooting the thing over and over. After about five shots to the leg and two shots to the shoulder, it began to pay more attention to her. Now Lillian could go to work with me as Liam randomly attacked, just to confuse it. As the monster smashed his fist, Christina dove sideways and shot another arrow into the shoulder.

"Ahhhhh!" Christina yelled. The monster swatted the arrow away like it was a bee and then he saw Lillian charging him. He smashed his other fist and that's when I kicked in. I swiped his fist and he turned on me, bringing his fist down. I guess this monster was having fun trying to play, Whack-A-Demigod because it kept chuckling for some random, stupid reason. Right before his fist had hit the ground, I leaped up on to it and started running up his arm. Lillian got in close and started swiping at him wherever there was chance. I scrambled up the rest of his arm just as used his club and swung at Christina. She launched herself into a backflip since she had enough room, and landed in kneeling position before shooting him in the arm. Finally I reached the shoulder and began slashing him. Liam took out his bow and arrow and shot in sync with Christina.

"Lillian!" Christina shouted. "Get behind him!"

Lillian ran forward and the monster saw her. As he brought his club down but she hit the ground baseball style and slid between his legs. Christina yelled something else at her as she went to work. When the club came again at Christina, she jumped up onto the arm, ran up it like a gazelle, and manage to flip over its head before sliding down the arm I was on. Now that she was near the entrance, she began to once more pelt the monster with her arrows. Lillian kept slashing from behind making the monster go forward but it was already because he was getting tired of Christina constantly shooting him. As he lumbered forward, I slashed and swiped at him as much as I could. Realizing that I was on his shoulder, he swept me off and luckily, I went sliding down half his arm before falling off. The monster raised his fist and I thought, _I'm going to be grease spot_, when I saw a blur of silver. Christina ran to my side as fast as lightning, dragged me out of the way, and stabbed to monster in the arm with her silver daggers.

"RAAAAR!" the monster yelled. Then he did something weird. He opened his mouth and Christina realized a split-second moment before I did to move.

"Scatter!" Christina screamed.

"Where?" I screamed back. I had barely finished my question because Christina had this figured out already. She shoved me to left as she dove to the right. I looked up and saw the monster breathe white stuff in front of him which covered the wooden floor like a powdered donut. Not to mention, the room dropped a few temperatures.

"Get outside!" yelled Christina. I scrambled to my feet and ran outside. Christina pelted it and after launching another arrow, turned heel and ran after me. The monster was so outraged, that it burst through the wall and outside. That's when I got a good look at the monster. He was eight feet tall, had blue skin and white hair. Now I'm not talking just white hair. I'm talking ice white hair. I racked my brains trying to remember what kind of monster this is. A monster with blue skin, white hair and breathes…what? Ice? I couldn't remember.

"What exactly is that? It looks familiar," I asked Christina.

"It's a Hyperborean Giant," Christina answered as she rolled out of the way as the giant brought his fist down. She continued to duck, roll, and shoot while I tried to stab it. Liam followed up, slicing and dodging his stoping feet.

"Lillian get in front! Logan take Lillian's place!" Christina yelled. We did as we were told and when I got around to the back, Christina told me to distract it. I told her I excel at that and she told me to shut up and do it. Fortunately, I got the Hyperborean Giant to turn on me. Unfortunately, I had small room and probably was going to die. Behind the monster, I saw Christina and Lillian running at one another. When they had reached one another, Christina jumped forward, and put her hands on Lillian's shoulders pushing off hard and flipped once. Christina landed and stabbed the monster in the forearm and then she jumped onto the back, ran up it and using her daggers, slashed its head off. Where she had stabbed it in its forearm, cracks of ice had began to appear. When she had sliced off the head, bigger cracks of ice appeared. They all joined together and then for a moment or two, we had a headless, giant, frozen statue. Then it crumbled to the ground into ice shards.

"Good work Christina," I commented.

"You too. Thanks for distracting it a couple of times. You did great at running up its arm and slicing it shoulder as much as you could," she answered.

"You did better. You ran up its arm, leaped its head, slid down the arm I was on and shot it!" I said.

"I guess," she grinned.

"Thanks guys for coming to the rescue," Lillian cut in. Liam gave a small nod, wiping his brow.

"No problem, sister," Christina said.

By now, it was evening and as far as we could see, we would not be staying by this house. We grabbed our bags from inside and continued to walk. When we thought we were far enough away from the abandoned house, we settled down and made camp underneath a tree. Luckily, there were flint stones to make a fire. After Christina and Lillian had made the fire, we sat there for a while, and Christina and Lillian told me funny things that happened at camp ever since they had been going. When the fire had begun to die out, we got ready to sleep.

"I'll take first watch," Christina told us.

"Shouldn't you sleep so you aren't tired and lead us in the wrong direction?" I asked her.

"No. I'm fine. You guys need your rest," she replied.

"I guess." Christina leaped onto one of the low branches, directly above us and settled herself into a comfortable position. Lillian and I had dragged our duffel bags near the trunk of the tree and were now trying to make them feel like a regular pillow. Lillian went to sleep automatically, but I laid wide awake thinking about the Hyperborean Giant and how I had fought.

"Hey Christina?" I said.

"Yeah Logan?"

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Camp Half-Blood, duh. Where else?" she answered.

"Oh course I know were you learned to fight. What I'm trying to say is, where'd you learn to fight like so well? I mean, Lynch is second best fighter but he can only do half of what you can do. Maybe not even half," I replied.

"What _exactly_ do you mean?"

"I…like you can do flips, awesome archery, and you have like…I don't know…Fancy fighting skills."

Christina laughed. "Fancy fighting skills?"

"Yeah, you do amazing flips, do awesome archery like I said, get awesome ideas in the middle of a battle, all kinds of stuff."

"First of all. I'm sure Lynch could do all the stuff I do. Second, it's not that all great. A lot of campers can do flips and awesome archery. What's so amazing about flips? I can see what you mean about awesome archery compared to some people who can't shoot an arrow in one direction, _ahem_, Logan."

"Ah, shut up. But I don't know. I know that nothing is so amazing about flips but it seems like when you do them, they're amazing in some unique way," I said slowly. She was silent and I thought she had gotten mad. But she finally spoke.

"I kind of know what you mean, but not really. I'm mean, look at Liam and Lillian. They're pretty good also. Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. Now get some sleep before I come down there and knock you out so I can have some peace and quiet and so that you can sleep," she laughed. I laughed with her.

"I guess." I turned so my back was facing Lillian and I was facing the road (no, we are not sleeping next to the road either if that's what you're thinking. We made camp in a small area with some trees and that is not very far or very close to the road). My mind began to go blank, as I fell asleep.

**A/N: Ok, I know a lot of chapters have ended with them going to sleep but I didn't really have anything better. :) Subscribe and review!**


	16. Beauty Helps

**Christina:**

"Christina?" asked Logan.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to ask you something." It was two days after we had fought the Hyperborean Giant and we were now traveling across West Virginia state. The day before we had taken a taxi as far as we could into West Virginia. We didn't want to waste anymore money after that so we just got off.

"Go ahead," I said.

"I know this may sound weird, but, have you ever had a voice talking to you in you head? Like a man's voice or a women's voice?" he said.

"Yeah."

"Same here," cut in Lillian.

"Why do you ask?" I said.

"Because the night that we played Capture the Flag and you knocked me down near the river, a man's voice said in my head, 'Go to the water, Logan. It'll heal you and give you strength.'"

"Really?" I said curiously.

"Yeah. Do you know or have any idea who the man's voice was?" he replied.

"It was Poseidon's voice. He was guiding you. Why he would tell you before you were claimed, I don't know."

"Oh."

"Poseidon also guides me and so does my mother, Athena, if you didn't know," I told him.

"And Athena just guides me," said Lillian.

"Once in a while, Apollo does that to me. But he jokes around a lot. For a while, he was purposely doing it just to screw me up. Especially when I was sword practicing! It was hard to concentrate and was so _annoying_!" Liam said, recalling the moment as he rolled his eyes. We continued walking, and by noon, we were worn out because we had been walking since seven this morning. We sat down and talked about what we know so far.

"We know that Alethia has been taken which is a given, Lynch is missing, the enemy is trying to gain some allies like Hades and some other person and that we can't contact them completely," said Lillian.

"Yep. Anything else?" I said.

"I don't think so," Lillian answered.

We sat there in silence. After a while, we played Hacky Sack, a game where you bounce a object off any body part and then you pass it to the next person. Logan could bounce the apple off his knee, head and elbow. Lillian was better. She could bounce it off the same parts plus her ankle and wrist. I could bounce the apple off all the parts that Logan and Lillian accomplished and one more part. The shoulder. At one point, Logan bounced off his ankle so high, looked for it and said, "I think its stuck on one of the branches", and then was about to say something else when it came down and hit him square flat in the head. I could've sworn that I heard a _THONK_ when it happened. Me and Lillian cracked up at that but we cracked up even harder when he bounced the apple off his knee and it came straight up like a bullet and smacked him in the forehead. Lillian and I figured he had gone cross-eyed. We were correct when we asked Logan if he had and admitted that he had.

"You know what I think?" Lillian replied.

"What?" demanded Logan rubbing his forehead and smiling.

"I think the apple hates you," she laughed.

"Whatever," answered Logan, smiling like crazy.

"You know its probably true," I said. We all laughed. After what seemed like hours of sitting there, Lillian and I stood up and told Logan that we needed to go. As we were about to start walking, a brilliant flash appeared in front of us. It was so bright, we had to avert our eyes. Once the light had died, we turned back only to find a beautiful woman standing there. She was wearing a long, flowing pink dress that was a V-neck. She had gold armbands that circled up on her biceps, gold necklace, bracelets and earrings. She was also wearing make-up. I saw Logan staring at her. I knew this woman. She was very, very pretty and that could only be one person. Some of the kids at camp kind of looked like her. The ones from Cabin 10.

"Aphrodite," I said. "Your looking as pretty as ever."

"Good to see you Christina and Lillian and Liam. And this is Logan Moore I see," she observed, looking him over.

"So, Aphrodite, what exactly are you doing here? I thought the gods were suppose to act indirectly and not show up to see demigods," I said.

"Oh, I just came down to help you guys after getting permission from Zeus. Took me quite a while though. Anyways, I have information and gifts. The first gift-,"

"Why are you helping us? We're doing fine so far," I interrupted. Aphrodite stopped and looked at me.

"Dear me. Logan and Lillian, are you hungry? Here." she waved her hand and a table with delicious foods appeared. "Help yourselves to it. In the meantime," she looked pointedly at me. "I want to talk to Christina." She steered me away from the table until we were out of earshot.

"Why are you helping us?" I repeated.

"Why? To help you get to your destination faster. To help you save Alethia and Lynch." I froze when she said his name.

"But why help us get there faster? We have no deadline."

"You may not realize it or not, but you do have a deadline. Two actually. The faster you get to your destination, the better," she said seriously.

"Why the better? If you know why, then tell me," I replied.

"I think you know why." I stared at her blankly.

"Why?" I said.

"You really don't know do you? It's better because deep down, I know that your scared for Lynch and Alethia. But mostly Lynch. It's better because you want to save Lynch and you feel a surge of protectiveness. You want to defend him. Also, you want to impress your parents so they recognize you," she answered.

"I'm not scared. And yes I want to save Lynch, but no, I do _not_ feel a surge of protectiveness. I kind of want to defend him. I know he can defend himself, but if something were to go wrong, then yes I would defend him. And if you think I'm also doing this so my parents can recognize me, your completely wrong. My parents don't care for me. They took my memories from when I was little so everything feels complicated, that nothing make sense, and that my whole life is a joke. You know that. You've seen the fights before. I'm not doing to impress them. I'm doing this quest to save my friends."

"Well if that's what you think. But I know that's what you feel," she said sighing.

"You know what? You go on believing that I'm scared for him, I feel a surge of protectiveness for him and that I want my parents to recognize me. But I know that I feel none of that. So-,"

"Christina I know-," she started

"END OF STORY," I finished sternly. She was quiet and didn't try to argue. I turned heel and headed back to the table. I wasn't hungry or thirsty. I wasn't angry. I wasn't sad. I was confused? No. I was disturbed with old thoughts. Aphrodite followed me to the table.

"Well before I go, I present a gift to each of you and another gift for all of you to share," she said. Logan and Lillian stopped eating and looked up.

"What? Really?" Logan replied astonished.

"No, she came here to give us food. Yes Logan," Lillian said sarcastically.

"The first gift is to Logan." She opened her hand and a bronze closed shield appeared. She gave it to Logan. Logan slipped it onto his arm. There was a clicking sound and the shield expanded outward like camera lens. It was a four inch wide round shield with scenes of sea disasters and decorations of conch shells, seashells, clams and other stuff underwater. In the middle of the shield was a picture of a kingdom with waves behind it and around it. Poseidon's underwater palace. Logan stared at the scenes and decorations in awe.

"If you lose this shield, it will always appear to you on your arm."

"Thanks Aphrodite," he said. She nodded.

"The second gift is to Lillian," she said turning to my sister. Aphrodite opened her palm again and this time, a small crossbow appeared with a set of small arrows that had silver tips instead of celestial bronze.

"This is a crossbow that can be used to put mortals to sleep if needed. This also kills certain monsters who can't be killed by celestial bronze," she said.

"How do I know if the monster can be killed with this only?" Lillian inquired.

"You will know when the time comes," Aphrodite responded. Lillian nodded as if she realized what Aphrodite was saying.

She turned to Liam, face grim.

"You're time is coming Liam. But don't fear though. You will be in for a surprise but you must not speak of it to the others on this quest. As for the others, they will be in surprise also but the camp has been informed already of you and the surprise. So here, I will give you this memory sealer. When the surprise happens, this memory sealer will come to mind and seal that surprise and remind you to not talk about it so you don't Iris-message or have any contact with 'them'," Aphrodite said, handing him a vile filled with white liquid. "Drink it when the surprise happens."

Liam nodded, taking the vial.

"Now the last gift goes to Christina." She turned to me. In her hand was a shiny gold bow, and arrows that had golden points inside a quiver.

"What kind of bow and arrow is that?" I questioned. It disturbed me because it looked peculiarly familiar.

"It's an important bow that you used a long time ago. I think you know," she said darkly. All of a sudden, something weird happened. My eyesight went blurry, tinged with red and my brain started to hurt. It was a shred of memory appeared in my mind of that particular bow and arrow set. It was a very faint memory. I pressed my fingers to my temples. I gasped. My vision began to clear and my brain stopped hurting. Lillian had her hand on my back. I was breathing hard. I looked up at Aphrodite.

"Wh-what was that?" I gasped.

"A small part of a memory that is missing," was her only reply.

"That's crazy. I…when did I use it?"

"I will leave that to you to figure out. Now the last gift is to all of you." Inside her hand was a flickering ball that kept flickering with different colors. The colors were red, green, blue and gold. She handed it to me. As soon as it touched my hand, it changed into a huge marble that surprisingly light with a mixture blue and sea green swirling around inside.

"What…exactly is this?" I asked Aphrodite looking at her.

"It's a Morph Sphere and is something you can you in battle. You can launch it at an enemy willing it to be soft, hard, fast, slow or anything else. It can appear to anyone who needs it desperately or when its needed. The only thing it can't do as far as I'm am concern is take the shape or anything. For example. It can't take the shape as a shield, sword, arrow or anything else. It stays in that shape. And it appears to you. No enemy can take it because if you use on the enemy constantly, it will recognize that enemy so that if the enemy tries to take it, the sphere will disappear and appear to you."

"Whoa. That is amazing. But what if all of us need it or only two of us need it?"

"It will transform itself so that all of you or two of you have it," she said.

"That's even more cool." Aphrodite smiled. "Use it well. And oh yeah, please don't use it on one another. That would be my fault for giving it to you."

"Thanks Aphrodite," Logan said.

"I must go now. Good luck and may the gods be with you." She began to get brighter and brighter. I averted my eyes and made sure that Logan and Lillian were. There was a brilliant flash of pink and when we looked back, she was gone. Logan looked at his shield.

"Now what?" he asked.

"How about…we keep traveling," Lillian said.

"Fine by me," I answered and with that, we kept walking.

**A/N: Shortest chapter ever probably out of my book, amazing! AHAHA! ^_^**


	17. Three New Demigods and Death is Complete

**Christina:**

_Click, click, click_.

Logan was playing with his new shield, opening and closing it. The clicking got faster and then it opened. He closed and did it again.

"Do it again, and I'm going to tie your hands behind your back," I told him. He did it again and I didn't follow through with the threat I made. He did it three more times. I hufffed.

_I swear, if he does that again, I'm going to yank it off his arm and tie his hands behind his back_, I thought. Sure enough he did. Click, click, click.

"OK THAT'S IT! " I spun around, yanked it off his arm and closed it up. However I didn't tie his hands behind his back. "Logan I told you I would take it if you didn't stop! That was so…," I cursed in Greek. "…annoying!"

"What? I like how it clicks! And besides, you forgot to tie my hands behind my back."

"Somebody got duck tape so I can shut him up _and_ tie his hands behind his back?" I questioned, rolling my eyes at him.

"Figured you would've brought some," Lillian told me.

"No kidding. If he doesn't shut up and stop being a smart aleck, I'm going to punch him like I did when he tested me the same day he had the gym incident," I replied.

"I want to see that."

"Ha-ha." We walked for hours. Soon we saw a city. When we reached it, we passed a loading dock for food. But something caught my eye that caused me to stop. I went down the road.

"Where you going Christina?" Logan asked.

"I think there's something down there that we should take a look at," I replied. Something told me that we should be cautious. The Three "L's" followed me. We walked by crates of fresh produce. I stopped, noticing a rustle.

There near a huge stack of crates that were near the wall. It was almost noon so the sun was at a slight angle. Behind the crates, there were shadows up against the wall. It looked like as if they were hiding from something. I gave the shield to Logan and Lillian pulled out her crossbow. I pointed at the shadows and they nodded. I pulled out my two silver daggers. We inched towards the crates when Liam grabbed my shoulder. He looked at me dead serious, and then at Lillian. He pointed at the crates and I shook.

I knew he was talking about how this situation was similar to what had happened to Lillian and I only when we were stalked by monsters instead. He was telling me to not scare them but I wasn't trying to. I just needed to make sure that if they were monsters, I was ready. I nodded at him and he gave me a small sad look. I tore my eyes away, not being able to stand it. I looked back behind us to make sure no one was looking. I kicked the crates and they fell. Out jumped a boy and two girls. The boy looked about a year older than the girls. The boy flew at me with a dagger.

"Whoa!" He had short-cropped sandy hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a tattered blue shirt and jeans.

As quick as lighting he tried to take a stab and I used my daggers and disarmed him. He tried to punch and kick me. I kicked his hands away and stopped him. He struggled against me. He was strong but no match for me. Judging from the way he had used his dagger, he could be good with a knife at camp. And the way he used his arms, the strength in them, could get him in as a good sword fighter. Lillian had dropped her crossbow and was wrestling with another as Logan helped. That girl was tuff. She was trying to slam Lillian with the small hammer but Lillian knocked her wrist and Logan caught the flying hammer before it could do damage. Liam was still fighting the other girl. That girl had a real knife. I'm not talking about dagger knife. I'm talking about a cooking knife. She was slashing at him and time froze for me.

A flashback happened and I saw myself. I saw a younger me in her instead. The terror that had seized my body at the time Alethia found us with that faun, Theo? _Faun_. Roman form for satyr. The automatic movement of my hand to my shirt sleeve to whip out that dagger I had. I saw potential in the girl fighting Liam. It was a younger me. And that girl gained immediate respect from me.

"Dude! Calm down!" I told the boy.

"Monsters! Fighting monsters!" He looked at me. "You're a monster! Only disguised!"

"There isn't any monster nearby and no, I'm not a monster!" I answered.

"How do I know that?" he yelled.

"Because we fight monsters," I told him. Then I muttered, "If you don't stop fighting me, I might turn into a freaking monstrous animal and attack."

Liam's eyes flashed at me.

Oops.

The boy automatically stopped struggling. The other two stopped also and we let them go.

"You do?" he questioned.

"Yeah. We're demigods. I'm Christina."

"I'm Logan."

"Lillian."

"Liam here."

"What's your name?" I asked the boy.

"Alec Brooks. That's Kyra Sevan." He pointed at the one Lillian and Logan had. "And that's Acacia Jade," Alec finished, pointing to the one that Liam had.

"What are demigods?" asked Acacia. I looked at the others nervously, the corner of my lip twitching and my jaw tightening. Acacia noticed and she studied me. I looked at her and she blinked.

"Let's get out of here first. Then we'll explain." We weaved our way through the city and as we walked we explained. I told them everything I had told Logan (expect the parents hating me and all that other stuff that's personal).

"Wow. So you're sister to Logan and Lillian?"

"Yeah. Well…actually half-sister if you think about it," I corrected him. We found out that Alec was 11 and the girls were 10. Alec told us that he'd gotten lost at an airport and had ran into Acacia and Kyra a few days later.

"Where did you leave from?" I asked them.

"We both left our houses because our parents hated us. We found one another wandering around about an hour later," they said. That was definitely something I could understand. Logan looked at me cautiously. Lillian shook her head and Liam looked away in a distance, his cheeks coloring.

"What? We're telling the truth!" they protested.

"I know you are. Its just…never mind. Lillian. Logan. Iris-message Chiron and tell him."

"Gotcha ya," Lillian answered. I fished a golden drachma out of the bag.

"Water?" I asked. We walked past a 'Wash-Your-Car-Place'.

"Yeah. The Car Wash Place," answered Logan. We stopped and stared at the sign for a split second before backtracking and heading into one of the car stalls. We made sure no one was looking. We turned it on and made a rainbow. I said the prayer and threw the coin in. "Chiron at Camp Half-Blood!" An image shimmered into view.

"Christina! Thank the gods! I was kind of worried! Is Lillian and Logan there?"

"Yeah and Liam is still alive, thank the gods. And no Chiron you don't have to be worried about me. Listen…," we explained what happened.

"What do you want us to do with them? Are you going to send a team to pick them up?" I questioned.

"No. I want you to keep them with you until you make it back to Camp Half-Blood," he said.

"Assuming we live that long," murmured Logan.

"Shut up," I told him.

"It's true. The prophecy-," Lillian popped him in the mouth and glared at him. He snarled at her.

"Do that again and I swear I will-," he started.

"_Shut the hell up_," I snapped at both of them before continuing with Chiron. "That's fine Chiron. I'll keep them safe along with Lillian and Logan." I looked at him and he raised his eyebrows innocently.

"And what about Liam?"

I bit my lip nervously. Chiron watched me intently. He knew well enough considering he basically had raised me and Lillian. He waited for an answer but I didn't reveal anything.

"Well, it would be nice to see all three new demigods alive when you get back. Last time…," he shuddered. I knew what he was talking about. Last time didn't go well.

"I swear Chiron."

"I trust you Christina," he said nodding.

"But I'm swearing on the River Styx."

Chiron froze, giving me a cautious look.

"You can't promise something like that and say that it _will_ happen. If all went wrong, what in the name of Hades would Zeus do to you?" Chiron managed to say.

Thundered rumbled on either side of the connection, despite the clear day.

"I can swear it and it _will_ happen Chiron. And that's a vow that won't be manipulated with or broken. You know me Chiron. So don't try to negotiate with me about it. We need go anyways before monsters attack with the signals we're putting up. Bye."

Chiron gave me a look that I knew was a automatic prayer to the gods to help me and was a warning to me to be careful. I nodded.

"Fine. May the gods be with you Christina," he finally said. Then he shut off the connection. Lillian glared at Logan.

"Sometimes I wonder if you will ever learn to keep things quiet," she growled.

We walked out the stall and continued west.

* * *

"Zeus almighty, what the Hades was that?" Christina cursed. Thunder rolled across the sky.

We had been walking for hours on end and everyone was just dripping with sweat. Christina's jaw was tight and she had been constantly muttering curses under her breath ever since we left the Car Wash. Liam tried to talk to her, telling her to lighten up but she would shrug him off. But he would insist. Finally, he had grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, trying to force her to see sense in the fact that he didn't care about dying. That he would be a hero. That Athena and Poseidon cared. And other crap like that. Things that Lillian understood, I barely did and Alec, Acacia and Kyra had no clue about as they worried for my sister.

After a while, Christina began to look worried. She was persistently looking behind us, as if checking for any signs of danger or to see if we were being stalked. Sometimes, she would veer off course and start heading northwest. Eventually though, we would end up heading west once again. It was as if she was trying to throw someone or _something _off.

That's when we heard a giant roar. Christina turned halfway, freezing. Trees shook, like how you see in movies. Then out came a charging monster. He had goat hooves, a hairy chest and ram horns on his head. He was roared at us, his nostrils flaring and dripping with I-don't-know-what on the surface of his nose. This guy seriously needed Kleenex with Aloe and probably at least three boxes. That nose was so disgusting, that if he sneezed, I wondered if we would get a tsunami or half and ocean of disgusting wet stuff coming towards us. But he looked so familiar. I looked closer and stood there in shock, a frozen statue on a plain. This was not good.

It was the Minotaur.

"Christina," I warned.

She stood frozen. She was snarling, her fists balled up.

"How many mother flipping times do I have to kill this son of a bull?" she cursed. **(A/N: Haha, yes I used flipping to replace the F word and bull to replace the B word. And for the word bull, just because the Minotaur is part bull. ;) only if you get the "pun")**

The Minotaur gave a defeaning roar.

"I thought you killed it when you were younger?" Liam asked.

Christina shook.

"Twice actually."

"What? How?" Lillian and Liam said, confused.

"Thanks to gods. More or less to Neptune, Minerva and Jupiter. Along with Diana," she muttered. Lillian stared, definitely thinking that something was wrong with her. Liam was staring at her through narrowed eyes, as if he was close to knowing what she was mumbling about. **(A/N: Poseidon, Athena, Zeus and Artemis [in order of Roman names above]. Also, big hint with the Roman names. Keep in mind for there is a second book coming out :D)**

"I've killed this before and twice when I was younger. One with you guys and the other time...," her voice trailed off, as if remembering a nasty memory.

The Minotaur roared again, advancing now; the ground shaking as he stomped towards us.

"Back away guys. It's time to kill this little sucker again."

We backed away slowly but Liam stayed nearby Christina. He insisted on something and reluctantly, she nodded in agreement.

The Minotaur rumbled, my ears ringing. He seemed to be showing off how loud he could 'scream'. It was also as if he was saying, 'what have you got you little punk?'

Christina's lip curled and she gave a growl that sounded just like a tiger.

Wow, like that had some kind of effect on the Minotaur. Her growl sounded like a sizzling pan next to his boisterous voice. He was quite an annoying, loudmouth show-off.

Then the Minotaur slammed his fist to the ground and she rolled away. Then he swung his giant, hairy arm right at her and she duck, sticking her sword up, the point slicing his arm, snickering as he bellowed with pain, turning on her again.

"Still fall for that trick, don't you?" she leered.

"_RAAAAAAAAARRRR_!" he yelled.

"Yell all you want! Because it sure as hell won't kill me!" Christina taunted. She ran towards him and he slammed both his fists on the ground. Somehow, she rolled between them and sliced his wrists. He slammed is fists again. She ducked, manuevered annd slid between his hits. It was like he was playing Whack-A-Demigod.

Finally, he got his lucky shot and he swung, hit knuckles hitting Christina. She flew backwards and hit a tree, a good seven feet off the ground before hitting it. There was a startingly _snap_ and she snarled with pain, gripping her side. Liam looked quickly from her then to the Minotaur. And I knew what he was thinking. He was going to sacrifce himself for Christina's sake.

He ran forward as Christina slowly got up, groaning. She looked to the side and noticed Liam. She figured out pretty quickly too.

"NOO LIAM! DON'T!" she screamed.

But he did anyways. He swiped, slashed, rolled and stabbed the monster repeatedly.

Christina tried to stand but she was struggling as she clasped her side.

The Minotaur roared at Liam, trying to hit him. My sister finally stood, grabbing her sword and limping her way quickly to the Minotaur. The monster swung and she was slow. He hit her and she slammed into the ground, rolling and sliding. Something else snapped and I cringed. Her body shook as she tried to pull herself onto hands and knees.

"Christina, don't. Stay down," Liam told her.

"_No_," she snarled. She grabbed an arrow randomly out of thin air off her back and notched it in her bow that also just appeared. She pulled back, took sharp aim and shot. She notched another and shot again.

The Minotaur screamed with rage, turning on Christina and huffing.

"Hey Wet Nose! Over here!" Liam shouted at the Minotaur, tyring to get his attention back on him.

The monster could care less and didn't pay any attention to Liam. Christina struggled, pulling herself into sitting position now, leaning against a tree trunk. She shot another arrow and the monster shook its head in irritation. While the Minotaur pulled the arrow out of its forehead, Christina winced now, straining to get to her feet. Christina grasped the tree with her hand and pulled herself up weakly, giving a small cry of pain for the first time. I had never seen her like this before. The Minotaur roared, obviously done focusing more on the arrow instead of the enemy. He stared at my sister with those cold, dark, beady eyes. She was pale and beaded with sweat as she tried to support herself against the tree.

Then he charged.

Liam yelled, jumping in front of Christina as her knees finally buckled and she fell to the ground. The Minotaur's horns hooked around Liam's chest on either side, probably scraping his lungs. Liam slammed into the tree, hanging there as the Minotaur screamed. Liam took a small dagger from his side and stabbed the Minotaur in the neck. There was a loud roar and the monster was gone, disintegrating into nothing. Liam landed next to Christina who dragged herself over to him.

She grabbed Liam, tearing open the sides of his shirt where his lungs are. It was already cut but Christina gave a small shriek. I thought the cut was small but when I took a look, there was a gaping gash on either side of his lungs. He was bleeding profusely, blood pooling around him on either side. Lillian and I hurried over with the three demigods who stared wide-eyed at Liam.

"Oh my gods Liam. How could you do that?" Christina whispered.

"Had too...or else...you would've...died," Liam answered.

"Still. None of us would've died anyways. Without you jumping in, the stops you from the dying and the prophecy being partially complete early. And besides, I was going to pull myself out at the last moment. Then he'd get stuck in the tree because of his horns and then I would kill him," Christina explained.

"Doesn't matter...anyways...I was going...to die one...way or another. Probably...worse than this...," Liam gasped. He was grasping the vial Aphrodite gave him. He seemed to be listening to something. As if there was another voice talking to him in his head. But I wasn't so sure. Liam's eyes widened after a while and Christina frowned. Eventually, his eyes dulled again, filled with pain once more. His body began to shake.

"No, you can't die on me right now," Christina said.

"Sorry...but it's...too late. No amount...of nectar or...ambrosia will...help. I gurantee," he said. Liam stared at the vial in hand. He uncorked it somehow and lifted it to his lips, drinking it. He began to cough and his body began to shake violently, more blood pooling around him. His body was shrouded in gold light and there was a flash. Liam began to fade slowly in the gold light until he was completely gone. Christina snarled with anger.

"I'm going to kill Aphrodite. She gave him the vial as a surprise for a quick, painful, poisonous death I bet."

"Or possibly to release him faster. Maybe there was no feeling of pain to him Christina. Maybe it looked like it was painful but possibly wasn't to him," Lillian suggested.

"Maybe. But I doubt it. Aphrodite is always up to no good anyways. I don't know why I even trusted her in the first place when she randomly came to us to help," Christina replied, glaring at the ground which was still smeared with Liam's blood.

"I agree with you for once Christina. I may not know a lot about demigods and gods but when a god comes looking for you, wanting to help with no price, something is up. It means they're up to no good," I told her.

Christina smirked slightly, looking at me.

"I think that's the smartest thing you have ever said or figured out about demigods and gods," she replied.

"Is that, um, a good thing?"

She nodded weakly, staring back down at the red liquid. Finally, she tried to stand but it seemed impossible. I quickly made it to her side as she fell, supporting her on my shoulders. Lillian came to help too, feeding Christina an ambrosia square as we began to walk her; Alec, Acacia and Kyra trailing behind us, glancing back at the scene every now and then.


	18. An Attack and Christina's New Water Toy

**Monsters Attack and Christina Discovers Something New**

**Logan:**

"Oh look. We're in Millville, Kentucky," Christina pointed out. It had been a day and a half since we had found Acacia, Kyra and Alec and since the death of Liam. Christina was still grieving, causing her to be twice as sarcastic and reckless sometimes. As we passed through the town, Christina began to tense. We fell into pace with her.

"What's wrong?" I questioned.

"I don't know. I feel like we're being watched," she responded looking around. I looked back at Lillian and the other three demigods. I figured that our scent was probably going to attract a lot of nasty monsters. That same image that I had gotten when Christina told me that our scent attracts monsters flashed in my head. I was so distracted that I slammed into a street lamp.

Christina said sarcastically, "Watch out. There's a street lamp."

"Yeah," I groaned. "Got that message."

We walked until we were in a plain that had lots of bushes everywhere. As we walked, I saw Christina take out Trident. Lillian took her sword out. I could tell that they felt a fight was coming. I knew that I should prepare my weapon because when two really good monster fighting demigods prepare theirs, then they know probably what's going to happen next.

Christina froze.

The bush in front of her was quivering. Then out of nowhere a huge hellhound jumped out. It stalked towards us, its tail twitching. That's when things went sour. The bushes near us quivered and monsters came out. Soon there was six hellhounds, three dracaenae, two monsters that looked like a mix between a dog and a sea lion, one Hyperborean Giant and a monster that had a human face, lion's body with mane and a scorpion bottom.

"What are those?" I asked Christina.

"The monster that looks like a sea lion and a dog is a telekhine and the one with the human face, lion's body and scorpion butt is a manticore. A manticore has spikes at its tail that is poisonous."

"Then we're doomed."

"Not really," Christina answered. One hellhound jumped and Christina brought Trident up in a deadly arch; disintegrating it. As soon as it disintegrated, the others attacked. Christina brought out her shield and dodged a hellhound. She slammed down a dracaenae with her shield. I fought two hellhounds. One lunged and I dodged just as it jumped over my head and stabbed it in the stomach. It howled and was gone. The other one lost interest in me. A dracaenae had attacked Alec who had constantly stabbing it. But the dagger wasn't celestial bronze. Christina got over to Alec and gave him her sword. She brought out her dagger and kept fighting. Lillian was fighting the other dracaenae. The manticore attacked me by launching spikes. I dove out of the way. That's when Kyra screamed. I looked over just in time to see a hellhound on top of her. I couldn't get over there without taking my attention off the manticore. Thank the gods Lillian had just killed the dracaenae she was fighting. She threw her sword like a javelin with deadly accuracy striking the hellhound in the flank. I got up and the manticore released another round of spikes.

"Logan!" Christina screamed. She tackled the manticore and I rolled away right near the…Hyperborean Giant. But it didn't pay any attention to me. It was probably waiting until the rest of the others had died.

I jumped up and fought my over to where Acacia was fighting. She was doing great fighting one telekhine. Christina had given her one of the silver daggers. So I left her.

That's when Christina got injured. I looked over and saw that three hellhounds were attacking her. She was fighting two and the third lunged. She tried battling it away but the tips of its razor sharp claws slashed her face. She screamed in pain. She turned back around, infuriated but I didn't see if she her injury. She changed into a huge black panther bigger than a normal black panther and attacked the hellhound. She jumped and grabbed it around its neck, raking her claws down. It disintegrated which was weird considering as far as I know, animals didn't have celestial bronze claws. She finished off the others.

I attacked the manticore by jumping on its back and driving my sword into its mane. It howled and threw me off. It released spikes but I battered them away with my sword. _How did I do that?_ I thought. No time think, because it paw came out of nowhere and hit me across the feet. I landed with _THUMP_ on my shoulder.

"Ow!" I yelled. I had probably dislocated my shoulder. The manticore was about to kill me when it froze. It disintegrated and there was Lillian standing there. We finished off the other telekhine and the last dracaenae. The last two hellhounds were finished off by Christina. The first one was killed by a silver dagger. The second one was killed by using her animal skills. When the hellhound lunged, she twisted and her claws raked from the hellhound's chest to the stomach.

That only left the Hyperborean Giant. We all went to work. Alec distracted it in front while I took up the rear. Christina, Lillian, Kyra and Acacia took the sides. Acacia jumped up and grabbed hold of its arm while Kyra struck everywhere she could hit. Lillian and Christina (who was back in human form) would slash his arms and his face. It knocked Acacia down and was about to smash her but I lunged as far forward as I could and stabbed in in the thigh. It didn't disintegrate. Instead, it knocked me away and Christina had to roll away.

Then something weird happened. She was so angry that in her hand, a huge blue ball appeared. I thought at first it was the Morph Sphere but I realized it was growing bigger and was dripping. It was a ball of water. She spun around and launched at the giant and it knocked him down. I stabbed it again only this time in the ribcage. It howled and just like the first Hyperborean I fought, cracks of ice appeared and spread all over his body and then turned to ice shreds.

"Holy moly. That was crazy," Alec gasped. He looked at Christina and his eyes grew wide.

I looked at Christina and saw how bad her face had been scratched. She a scratch running from her the corner of her left eye to the left corner of her mouth. The second one came from the middle above the eye, across the eye and the nose and down to the mouth ending at midpoint below the lower lip. Her third scratch came from the middle of her face across the middle of her nose and to the right corner of her lip. The final one started in the middle above her right eye, went over the eye and down a bit below the corner.

"Are you okay Christina?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said. "Let's just walk a bit farther and then settle down to fix everyone up. We don't want to attract anymore monsters here since we just battled some."

We followed her for about 10 minutes. Finally, she stopped. We all sat down and Christina began fixing Alec and Acacia up. Lillian worked on Kyra while I handed supplies out. Finally, Christina sat down and sighed. She looked tired and I understood why. Making that huge ball of water and concentrating on not losing it was a lot of work. I came over and sat down next to her. I took out the canteen of nectar and in a Ziploc bag, little ambrosia squares.

"Can you see?" I asked her. I figured that when you get scraped in the eye, you could possibly be blind and since she had been badly cut I thought she was.

"Yeah. The claws actually missed my eyes. When the hellhound cut me, it missed my eyes completely but however made it close enough so that it looked like it went over my eyes," she answered.

"Dang. You got lucky."

"Yeah I sure did."

"Here." I gave her an ambrosia square. "Hold still." I took out a bottle of water and some paste and started dressing the wound using my good arm. After a while, I grabbed a washcloth I had gotten from the Rodeway Inn, poured water on it, and put it on the every scratch one at a time. Each one began to heal and finally, they were nothing but white scars.

"Thanks Logan." She looked me over to make sure I was fine. Come to find out, I did dislocate my shoulder. But first she dressed some big wounds and did the exact same thing. Then she took out her bronze dagger and gave me the hilt so the blade was facing the dirt. She pulled my dislocated arm out straight and I winced. The three new demigods watch, interested.

"Try not to scream when I relocate your shoulder," she advised me.

"Okay…wait what?" I said surprised. "You're going to relocate my shoulder?"

"Why? Do you want to only be able to use one hand when fighting? Anymore stupid questions brother?"

"No. Do you know how to?"

"No…I'm going to relocate your shoulder but I don't know how," she said sarcastically. "Well what do you think?" I didn't answer. She called Lillian over. Lillian put her hand on my shoulder. Christina pushed my arm in once, pulled out and then pushed in hard and Lillian guided my shoulder back into its socket. I yelled. Lillian and Christina let go of me. I cursed a couple of times in Ancient Greek

"Dang Logan, can you yell any louder?" Christina said shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Well sorry. That hurt like crazy. I don't think you know how much pain that was."

"Oh trust me, I've had my left shoulder dislocated thrice." No one said anything for a long time. When we were well rested, we all started traveling again.

"Where did that ball of water come from?" I demanded after walking for a while in silence. I had been really impressed and surprised with the ball of water.

"I don't really know what that was," she said quietly. We walked another few miles in silence.

"Do you think Poseidon did that?" Lillian questioned. Christina was silent again for a long time before she answered, "Maybe. Just maybe."

Night began to settle as we walked on and trees began to enclose us. We sat down near a huge tree and set up camp. Christina got Alec, Acacia and Kyra settled down safely and insisted on taking first watch. I told her that she needed to rest but she insisted. I gave in and told her she had to wake me in a few hours so she could some sleep. She agreed. I was so tired that as soon as my head hit my pack, I fell asleep. However the worst part was the fact that it only brought dreams.

In my dream, I was in some kind of black throne room with an empty throne made of human bones fused together. There were ghosts that were swirling around me. _Beware! Beware! He will rise and will come to power so he can be king of the gods! He will overthrow his brothers and have his revenge. Someone is responsible and controlling him! You must stop him! You must!_ I walked up to the throne of fused bones and a voice spoke.

"Someone likes to walk in on important business they need nothing to know about," cackled a voice. I looked around expecting to see someone but I didn't.

"You can't stop me little hero. I will soon overthrow the other gods and be the lord. I have suffered three millennia ever since I began lord of the stupidest job. I will get my revenge! And you will be the first to feel my wrath when I rise!" My dream was filled with a blast of blackness and the floor opened up and swallowed me.

I woke up, sure I was falling for sure. I thought about my dream and just as I was about to get up, Christina walked in and said I could take watch if I wanted to. I agreed and she took my spot. I listened to her breathing as it steadied out. Lillian was asleep near the three demigods. If anything happened and we had to raise the alarm, Lillian would be there to protect them. I looked up at the sky, wondering if my dad was listening. I thought about how the gods were only allowed to act indirectly and I tried piecing clues together of what I knew so far. But I just couldn't. I decided to think about my dream and what it meant. Who could possible control a god? Why did he want to be king of the gods? And most of all, were we losing time to save Alethia, Lynch and stop whoever was controlling the god and his rage? As dawn approached, Lillian was the first to wake and found me sitting there in deep thought.

"Morning," she said. She took one look at my face. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah. I'm fine. Actually, no I'm not," I answered.

"What did you dream about?" she asked. I guess the expression on my face was good enough because she added, "You look uneasy." I told her about my dream. When I finished she said, "Are you sure that there was a blast of blackness?"

"Yeah. It was weird," I replied.

"Are you sure the throne was made of human bones fused together?"

"Yep." As soon as that answer came out of my mouth, Lillian's face paled.

"No, it cannot be. That's impossible. He…why would he turn on them?" she murmured.

"You have an idea of what it is, don't you?" I said. She looked me in the eyes. Her startlingly gray eyes were so intense, they looked like she was thinking at a million miles per hour.

"Maybe. But I highly doubt it's true. I'll have to ask Christina," she told me.

"Ask me what?" said a voice behind us. We turned around to see Christina packed and Acacia, Alec and Kyra ready to go also. How they manage to get up so quietly and quickly was a mystery to me. I can't do that.

"Something about Logan's dream." She told Christina and her eyes got wide and she paled also.

"But if he turns on them, the Olympians…they'll have to do something. Got to inform Zeus when we go to Olympus if so," she told Lillian.

"Christina you know, don't you? You were _there_ on your last quest."

"I know but I find it hard to believe it would be him."

"Then it's him isn't it?" Lillian insisted. Christina shaking her head replied, "Not saying because for one fact we don't know anything else."

"Christina-," she started but Christina shook her head and answered darkly, "I'm not going to speak of it anymore." She started walking and the Alec, Acacia and Kyra followed her. I shrugged and me and Lillian followed her.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, I may be awhile on updating and posting new chapters for both books but I'm right now on vacation; away from Japan finally. So I don't have a lot of time during the day or even surprisingly at night when I'm relaxing. Sorry guys but I can only promise this: I will try to update a.s.a.p when I can and when I get back to Japan, if I'm not on restriction for my laptop anymore, I will freely update as much as I was the first time. Thanks! ^_^**


	19. A Twelve Year Old Girl is a Goddess?

**A/N: The song is called the Gummy Bear Song. It is not, and I repeat, IS NOT a real song. I made it up with some help from a friend. Lol, enjoy it.**

**Logan:**

The stupidest thing I did that day was singing. Don't ask how it got started, but I was so hot, exhausted and sore that I just started singing a song a made up call the Gummy Bear Song. So as we were walking I just sang whatever came to my mind.

"I like swimming in the lake.

I like swimming in the rain.

I love swimming in the pool of life.

Gummy bears, they make me insane!

Gummy bears are so good they're better described as heaven.

You know what's not enough? Seven!

You know what is enough? Eleven….THOOUUSSAANNDD!

Gummy bears! Gummy bears! It's so much fun to say!

But don't say it! Please, PLEASE spray it!

Cause I could eat gummy bears….ALL DAY!"

Christina stopped and looked at me kind of weird. I kept singing it for a long time and I guess Christina got annoyed by it.

"Really Logan?"

"What? Yeah I guess."

"Come here." I walked over to her. She pulled something out of her backpack. She took off the cap and only too late to realize, splashed me in the face with water.

"BLAAARG!" I yelled. "What did you do that for?" I asked her, kind of mad.

"Jeez you've been singing for almost an hour and a half. Your tired and hot. Maybe-,"

"You think I'm hot?" I grinned stupidly.

She slapped me really hard in the face and I stumbled, nearly toppling over as I woke up out of my dehydrated daze.

"Holy Zeus. That was weird," I said suddenly, looking around.

"Yeah. Maybe I should've just kept watch all night long."

She gave me the water and told me to drink it and finished the bottle. Handing it back, we continued to walk and I began to feel less tired and hot. Christina finally changed her form to a huge tiger and let Acacia and Kyra ride on her back. Alec was trying to claim he wasn't despite the fact he was starting to stumble. Christina growled at him and he finally surrendered and jumped on her back.

"Christina, is it possible to save time by moving faster?" Lillian asked. She stopped and thought about it. Then she growled and motioned her head to get on her back. We hopped on.

"_Hold on_," said a voice in my head that sounded like Christina's.

"Whose talking to me?" I said out loud.

"What?" the others said in unison, besides Christina.

"_Me idiot. Christina? The huge tiger you're on,_" said the voice. I nearly fell off Christina in shock.

"I understand you?" I asked. Christina growled.

"Whoa. That is so cool." I could imagine her rolling her eyes.

"What?" Lillian asked.

"I can understand Christina through our minds, the twitching and flicking of her ears, tail and her growls and…how do you put it? Meows," I said trying hard not to laugh at the meows, twitching and flicking of the ears and tail part. She growled at me telling me to shut up or else she was going to throw me off and leave me behind.

"Ok Christina!"

"That is cool Logan," Lillian replied.

"I know. Well, she told us to hold on or else we're going to get thrown off," I told everyone. We all grabbed hold of her fur. She growled twice and twitched her ears.

"She said she doesn't mind you holding on really tight it doesn't hurt her." Everyone shrugged.

Everyone shrugged as she began sprinting at the speed of an regular tiger. Then we started to gain speed. She got faster and faster. It felt great. She leaped streams and bushes with hardly a jolt. Finally she slowed down because up ahead was a battle that was raging on. She stopped, let us off and changed into a human. She gasped and another weird thing happened. Her clothes changed into silver pants and a shirt and a silver bow and quiver with a bunch of silver arrows appeared.

"Get your weapons ready," she told all of us. She gave her sword to Alec again, her bronze dagger to Acacia and a silver dagger to Kyra. I activated my shield and Lillian got out her sword and shield. Christina was about to run into battle when a wolf jumped out. It looked like a regular wolf but I could tell this one was a monster. Christina shot it and melted into a pool of liquid gray. Another lunged out and attacked Acacia who stabbed it but it didn't disintegrate. Christina cursed and shot it down.

"Crap! They can only be killed by silver!" She looked at Lillian who got out her silver tip arrows.

"Can I fight since I have a silver dagger?" asked Kyra.

"No. Sorry kiddo. Too dangerous." Kyra nodded like she understood and gave Christina back the silver dagger. Christina and Lillian ran into battle. A couple of times I saw Christina in animal form attacking wolves in mid-air. One time she came out with some girls who were wearing silver clothes like her. They shot into the battle and killed several wolves. Finally, all the wolves were dead. There were thirty girls wearing the exact same clothes and they all had silver bows and arrows. A girl with auburn hair instructed girls to set up tents. Soon camp had been set up in seconds. Christina talked to the auburn hair girl and pointed in our direction. The girl and a few others followed.

"Who are they?" I asked Lillian who had joined us.

"They're the Hunters," Christina answered instead.

"The who?" I said.

"The Hunters of Artemis. They're a band of girls only that travel around the country killing monsters. In order to join the hunt, they have to swear off boys by taking an oath. Then they are immortal unless they fall in battle."

"Oh." I looked at the girl with auburn hair. "But the gods can't act directly. So does that mean there's some kind of lieutenant who like gives the orders because the goddess speaks in her head or something like that?" I answered.

"Actually," she pointed at the auburn haired girl, "Artemis has her own rules." I looked at the girl.

"So you must be the lieutenant of Artemis?" I said.

"Logan-," Christina started to say but the auburn hair girl raised her hand.

"I think I should explain." She looked at me. "Logan, I _am_ Artemis. The goddess of hunt and moon." My mouth hung open.

"No way. And you're only twelve. I seriously don't believe the moon part." One of the girls stepped forward with a dangerous look in her eyes. She looked about ready to hit me. Artemis held up her hand and the girl stopped but she looked dangerous still. I would have to watch I would say because I didn't want to put it past the girls. Artemis looked at me and said, "Really Logan. Twelve is the age average age for girls to become a Hunter. And do you see the moon in the sky at all?"

"No. But the moon doesn't come out in the day?"

"Or does it?" she replied. "Look up." I looked up, away from the sun. Artemis closed her eyes and focused hard. She waved her hand and made some kind of motion. The moon appeared in the sky. It wasn't shining, but it looked like it would during the day if you've ever seen it during the day. Artemis waved her hand and did the motion and the moon disappeared. I looked back at her.

"Okay now, I believe you," I said changing my mind. A faint smile played across her lips. "Follow me," she instructed and we did.

She led us over to the tents. They were set up in a moon crescent and they were all silver. There were wolves with gold eyes and flacons that were surrounding the camp. They were probably keeping guard. We walked into a tent and inside there was a bronze brazier burning. There were animal pelts all over the tent. We sat down on some sleeping bags and Artemis waved her hand and iced tea, lemonade, ice water and cold sodas appeared. Christina popped open a Coca Cola while I popped opened a Root Beer. Acacia had lemonade and so did Kyra. Alec had Mountain Dew.

"So why are you wearing silver clothes," I asked Christina.

"I thought you would have guessed by now," she answered taking a drink from her Coca Cola. I was afraid to say it but I did anyways.

"You're a Hunter?"

"Yes."

"So you're immortal? Then really how old are you because if you are immortal then you could've been born a hundred years ago or a few years before me!"

"Logan, I wasn't born hundred or a few before you. I was born the same year and I am the same age as you. Once Hunters swear their oath, they don't age. They may look the age they did when they became a Hunter but they could actually be like a few years older or a hundred years older. For me, Artemis cut the expectations. I age like a regular human so that rule of not aging when you become a Hunter goes out the door for me and so does the swearing off boys. I don't know why, but all I know is that I'm just immortal and that other rules go out the door for me. It just feels weird."

"That probably does feels weird," I answered honestly. She shrugged and spoke to Artemis.

"First question, where are we exactly?" she asked.

"We're on the border of Missouri and Tennessee," Artemis answered.

"What? But we were near Millville, Kentucky before I turned into a tiger and traveled here. That's way too far for an animal to travel in ten minutes." Artemis eyes gleamed.

"You are gifted with skills of an animal. You're not like other animals. You're different. Be happy for that," Artemis told Christina.

"Hey, wait a second," Alec said. "Are most demigods, animal changers?"

"No. As far as Chiron knows, I'm the only one. The only one who can change into an animal."

"Chiron…," Acacia repeated. "That name sounds familiar." She tapped her chin, thinking.

"He's the-,"

"No, shhh. I wanna figure it out without you butting in, Smartbutt." Alec grinned and shrugged when it finally clicked.

"Oh, he's the centaur who trained Hercules, Jason…all those heroes from Greek mythology," Acacia remembered.

"He's also the son of the Titan Lord. The Lord of Time. Kronos."

Thunder split the sky.

"We do not speak names. They have power, Alec," Artemis said. Alec paled, apologizing.

"You seem to know a lot about Greek mythology, Alec," Christina cut in. Alec nodded. "I, uh, took a Greek mythology class in school," he said nervously. I don't know why he was acting so nervous. Maybe because Christina was powerful, quick and dangerous. But that didn't seem like it. Christina narrowed her eyes. She obviously didn't believe him however she didn't let on. All she said instead was, "I see. Must have been, ah, interesting." She turned to Artemis.

"My lady, I have some bad news that doesn't seem right. Something that this kind of person would do unless his convinced the wrong way."

"Proceed," Artemis said." Christina took a deep breath and quickly told her the news in Greek. Artemis face darkened.

"It cannot be. He would never do such a thing," she said.

"I know but I think it's true," Christina said quietly.

"Have you told the others?" Artemis asked sternly.

"No. I've only told Lillian."

"Tell the others. The sooner they know, the better and maybe you guys can figure something out." Christina looked away. She murmured something in a different language. I had a feeling if she said it in Greek, we would understand.

"Logan, you know your dream right?"

"Yeah. Why? What about it?"

"The throne of human bones fused together is the throne of…Hades. And the that voice that was talking to him is trying to recruit him and turn against the Olympians. When Hades said he wanted to be king of the gods, he's basically saying his planning on how to overthrow Zeus. And obviously the person who is recruiting Hades has also taken Alethia and Lynch. The person is obviously trying to get Alethia and Lynch onto his side. But why they would take them is a mystery. There could be any reason why. But I have a feeling that…that…," Christina's voice trailed off.

"That it's a trick and they're using them as bait to lure you?" I offered. Christina swallowed and closed her eyes. She made a three claw finger over her heart and pushed out, warding off evil. When she opened her eyes, they were full of sadness, anger, and disbelief.

"I just love seeing my closest friends being used as bait to lure me," she said sarcastically, anger in her voice. Her eyes suddenly filled with anger. "However, I don't care. If I have to, I will walk into any trap any time to save my friends even though that means I can be killed. I'm not going to leave them. If they try to take anyone else who is close to me, I'm going to make them pay hard. And I'll make the person who took Lynch and Alethia pay also." I looked her in the eyes and she held it for a long time. Her jaw clenched and I realized something. She was referring to me and Lillian.

"Christina, you do realize what your saying would be really dangerous if you do it," I told her nervously.

"I'm a dangerous girl and a risk taker," she replied solemnly.

"That is something I can definitely believe," I answered. Christian smiled.

"So what do we know now about what's going on?" Christina asked.

"Well let's see. Alethia disappeared around the same time Lynch did," I put in.

"We can't contact them because Iris-messaging connection has been cut off," added Lillian.

"The enemy is trying to recruit Hades so he can turn on the Olympians," Kyra said.

"And that he's also planning on overthrowing Zeus," I finished. "I think that's about it."

"Well it seems to me you guys have enough information you need to understand some parts of the prophecy," Artemis pointed out. I thought about it.

"Four shall travel as far west as they can,

To find the girl taken by hand.

You will lose a needed child of archery, a friend,

Only to find a god in the end.

If thee shall find the girl, war shall wage,

And underground will release terrible rage," Christina recited.

"We're traveling west. We're going to find the girl which is Alethia. You will lose the child of archery, a best friend, which was Liam. Only to find a god in the end. That could be Hades. I guarantee that we will find Alethia and war will happen and the underground releasing rage, I don't know," I guessed.

"I'm uneasy about losing the child of archery a best friend line. I feel like it doesn't mean Liam was killed. I think it means something else," Christina concluded. Everyone sat in awkward silence. Christina finally stood up and quickly said, "I'm going to go check on the Hunters and feed the wolves and falcons." She left the tent as quick as possible. She probably didn't want to sit in here thinking about the prophecy and the death of Liam. She most likely wanted to clear her mind and I could understand why.

"Wait. You don't know what the prophecy means?" asked Kyra.

"No. Our Oracle, she tells the prophecies if we are going on a quest. And the prophecy lines always have double meanings. So we don't know what the prophecy lines mean until the events have happened," I explained. Lillian nodded.

"Oh. So I guess it's difficult?" Acacia asked.

"Yeah. Well, I mean, I guess it is depending on your quest and what you're doing," I answered looking at Lillian, hoping I had said the right thing. Thank the gods she understood.

"If your quest is really hard, then yeah it's going to be difficult to know what might happen and predict what some of the lines mean. If your quest is easy and you have a pretty good idea of the problem, then you might be able to figure out some of the lines and it won't be at all that hard," Lillian finished.

"Makes sense," Alec said. We all took a long drink. That's when things went wrong which just goes to show how much luck we get. Christina burst in.

"He…there…looking for…me and Logan and Lillian…," she gasped trying to catch her breath. I had never seen her act like this.

"Wait…what is happening?" Artemis said standing abruptly.

"It's him…the guy...sided….HADES!" she finished.

Artemis grabbed Christina by the wrist and rushed outside. We were about to follow, but Artemis stopped us.

"Don't follow," she said. They went outside. We waited in silence. I stood up and paced back and forth inside the tent with my hand on my sword. Being ADHD and having to wait anticipating makes me nuts. Lillian was looking anxious and seriously dangerous. Alec had his dagger and Kyra and Acacia were ready if a fight happened. Finally I couldn't stand it. I was about to walk outside but Lillian stopped me.

"Don't go out if Artemis told you to." I didn't listen I was walking out the tent entrance but instead of going out, I bounced off something soft. It was like an invisible wall was blocking the entrance. I looked out instead but what I saw made me stick my head back inside.

"What did you see?" Lillian asked standing.

"N-nothing," I stuttered. Few minutes later, Christina came storming in, eyes wild and Artemis walking in behind her, trying to calm her down. It was no use.

"We're leaving _immediately_," she said angrily. She grabbed her pack and walked out. We followed her, feeling scared. Before I left, Artemis put her hand on my shoulder.

"Save Christina if something happens when you get to the west coast," she said gravely.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked bewildered. I didn't think saving Christina would ever happen. More like her saving me.

"You will find out soon."

"Great. Another straight answer," I said sarcastically.

"You'd better get going," she said. She looked at me then said, "Did you try to follow us?" I blushed.

"Figures. I knew you would. Go. And remember what I just told you," I left the tent feeling a little nervous. Christian was outside saying bye to the Hunters. She approached me quickly. Everyone watched us, obviously listening.

"We need to get to the west coast as soon as possible."

"Not to get on your nerves, but how? I can't fly because Zeus would blast me out of the sky. And possibly you too. As far as I see, we're in the middle of the country with no train anywhere in sight," I told her. She took a deep breath and dropped her pack, turning into that wolf instead and I understood.

"Come on guys." I was going to put Lillian first but Christina snapped at me.

"_F__ront now Logan_," she growled curtly. I got on first, then Lillian. After Lillian was Acacia, Kyra and last Alec. We put each of our packs in front of us to keep them from falling. We held tight to her fur which acted like seats and handles. Artemis came out of the silver tent and raised her bow in farewell. Christina flicked her ears twice, turned around and tore off running. She ran and ran, at the speed she was using earlier. As the day wore on, she would stop when she got tired and let us get a drink. Then she would keep running. By noon, she was losing speed.

"Hey, slow down. You're using all your energy." She growled, flicked her tail and twitched her nose.

"What does that mean?" Alec asked.

"She said she'll stop for half an hour so we can rest but right now, all that matters is getting to the west coast," I announced. She came to a halt and we slid off. She changed into a human. She was breathing heavily. I came up to her and gave her bag back.

"So…what happened?" I questioned. She didn't answer. I left her. After thirty minutes, we were ready to go. We jumped on her back and we left. I didn't talk to her for a while. Finally I couldn't stand it.

"What happened?" I asked again. Her left ear twitched.

"_I knew you weren't going to leave the matter untouched_," she said in my mind.

"Sorry. Just wondering."

"_He came looking for us. He was trying to get us on his side. He told me that we would have power and that I would never have to worry about training at Camp Half-Blood again because I would have the knowledge to fight anytime. He said you would have power over the sea and be able to overthrow our…father. He said Lillian would have more wisdom than Athena. So much that Lillian could get rid of Athena. But what's even worse, was the fact he told me Lynch was behind it. I didn't believe him. He said when we get closer to Alethia, he's going to make the quest harder and a little...interesting. He also told me that if we made it past those surprises had for us, he would be waiting to fight us and convince us to join him or be killed_," Christina explained.

"Really? I mean, I wouldn't believe it was Lynch either. He seems laid back and nice. I'm sure Hades is trying to play with our minds. He's trying to make you believe that so you can turn your back on Lynch and kill him. He's also trying to make you believe it so that he can lead you into a trap. I guarantee it's not Lynch behind it," I said trying to assure her.

"_I know your trying to make me feel better. I know it's not Lynch. It doesn't seem like a thing Lynch would do. He's the son of someone who's good. Apollo. Although Apollo can be annoying with his poetry_," Christina replied. Thunder rolled in a distance even though the sky was clear and not a single cloud was to be seen. Christina barked an apology.

She ran in silence. Fields flew past and towns in a distance did. Evening came and Christina settled down in animal form still, a sad, distant look in her eyes. No doubt she was thinking about Liam. Her best friend, brother, a major part of her life. She told me that we could set up camp around her and use her as a bed and blanket. She sheltered us from the wind blowing that kept putting out our fire at first. Luckily we had found flint stones and sticks and dried grass. Finally, we all laid down against Christina's warm fur, who was already asleep.


	20. We Gamble Monsters in Las Vegas

**Christina:**

"Where are we Christina?" Logan demanded. It was three days after being at the Four Corner Monument and I had been in human form for two. We were in Colorado City, still heading west as fast as possible. Along the way, I tried hard not to think about losing Alethia completely. As we walked, I took out my sword because recently, I had a dream about this sword and for some reason, it was really special in some way.

"Christina?" asked Acacia. "What is that in front of you?"

"What?" I looked up and jumped back in surprise, nearly slicing the Iris-message of Chiron.

"Jeez Chiron. Tell me next time," I advised.

"Sorry. Good to see that you're in one piece and so is the rest of the group," he replied.

"Yeah. I guess. Is there something you need to tell us?"

"Yes. But first, tell me everything that has happened since the last time you Iris-messaged me."

"Chiron, I'll tell when we get back from the quest," I sighed

"Seeing if we live long enough," mumbled Logan. I shot him a look telling him to stop being negative.

"Fine. Anyways, yes I have something to tell you. Zeus called me to Olympus along with Dionysus to have a small meeting with some other gods. And he said that…that he wanted his daughter back by the summer solstice, three days from now." I shuddered. My dream from last night had been correct. If only I could tell Chiron about something that might need to be reported to Olympus…

"Ok. We'll do our best to get her back by then," I said reassuringly.

"Zeus says he knows you will succeed and your parents," he paused. "They said that you need to follow you heart because its leading you to the right place and that they know you will do what is right for you so you can figure out and fix, ah, certain things." I paled in the face. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I didn't like it but I knew it might take two years for me to figure out and fix those certain things.

"I guess. So is that all?" I said.

"Yeah. I know you need to go, so I'm just going to…you know…go."

"Um, yeah. That would probably be best seeing how we have three days now," I replied uncomfortably. Chiron nodded and waved his hand through the Iris-message. I looked at Logan and everyone else and started walking without a word.

* * *

Later on in the day, Lillian and Logan got into a fight after we found something to eat.

"Why do you keep hiding things?" yelled Logan.

"Because you don't need to know yet! Why are you so anxious to figure out and know?" Lillian yelled back.

"Things might make sense if you would tell me!" Logan answered.

"Wisdom isn't always good for you!"

"Come on!" he drawled. "Your mother is the goddess of wisdom! Why are you saying this!"

"It's not always good for you when your not ready for it!" she shouted.

"That is the most stupidest, insane, idiotic comment I have ever heard from you!" he spilled.

"Yeah well at least I'm not the one who makes the stupidest, insane, idiotic and lame comments all the time!"

_ If they keep up like this, I swear, I'm not going to be to thrilled_, I thought.

"Oh, I make the stupidest, idiotic, lame comments all the time? What is wrong with you? Your always talking with Christina when you think I'm not listening or watching about things you won't tell me! Even Christina won't!" he retorted.

"Got that right," I muttered to Acacia, Kyra and Alec who were looking nervous.

"Yeah. I have because you barely know anything about me let alone Christina!" Lillian replied raising her voice.

"I know things about Christina!"

"Not as much as other people do!"

"Who cares if other people do? I'm Christina's brother!" Logan hollered.

"Yeah, and I'm her sister! We've done everything together and I know just as much as she knows about her and anything else!" Lillian retorted.

"We've done _almost_ everything together and Lillian knows _almost_ just as much I know about me and anything else," I told the others without Lillian and Logan hearing me. The three shook their heads.

"Is it always like this?" Alec asked.

"Nah. Lillian just, ah, dislikes him," I replied.

"I can see why," Acacia said. Kyra smacked Acacia.

"Don't be mean. He just doesn't understand. That's all."

"Hey, don't get mad with me because what I just said was the truth. Logan is kind of annoying," Acacia said defensively.

"Please don't fight or else I'm gonna be pretty pissed," I interrupted before Kyra could reply.

"You know what? Sometimes, I wish you would just stop acting like this!" Logan shouted.

"And you know what I wish? That you would stop being annoying and stop acting like a smart aleck!"

"I'm annoying and a smart aleck? Look at you! You're so annoying when you think you know everything! You are so annoying-," yelled Lillian.

"That's it. I've had it with them bickering," I growled.

"think that you can do everything! You're a smart aleck when you-," he started.

"Just shut up will you guys! I'm sick and tired of you fighting and saying these things to one another! I bet Acacia, Alec and Kyra are sick of it too! Seriously! We're going to tear ourselves apart just like Hades**-**", I froze. I almost said something that I didn't want to say.

"Just like Hades what?" Lillian asked.

"N-nothing," I stuttered. "The point is," I said firmly because they were raising their eyebrows, "you really need to stop fighting. If you say another word to one another, I swear that I will-," thunder boomed overhead even though it was clear skies, drowning my words.

"Really!" I yelled at the sky. "Trying to say something important and you send thunder?" Thunder boomed again.

"Fine! I won't say anymore!" I answered. "Jeez!" Acacia looked at me kind of funny.

"Don't ask," I told her. She nodded but I figured she understood what the thunder thing was about. We trekked farther in silence. After of few miles of it, Alec broke the silence.

"So…what city is next?" I thought for a second.

"Las Vegas," I said.

"Cool! Can we spend a night or two there? Do we get to gamble? Can we visit all the cool little replicas they have?" Alec asked.

"Um, no. Sorry. We're on a time limit and besides, we're all underage to gamble. But maybe, when we are passing through Las Vegas, we can check out some of the replicas."

"Yes!" he exclaimed. I exchanged looks with Acacia. She shrugged. It was afternoon so the sun was in our eyes. While we walked, I got so bored, that I pulled out my silver bow and arrows and shot random billboards we passed. They were those billboards that were out in the country randomly telling you how many miles you had until you hit this city or advertisements. Soon that got boring. Finally, I couldn't stand the fact that we weren't moving fast enough. I turned into my animal and we traveled a few miles. Once I turned back into a human, I took out the Morph Sphere and examined it. I threw it and sure enough it would return.

Lillian was keeping her distance from Logan who was having a little chat with Alec. And us girls were walking together. As we passed another billboard telling us we had one more mile left, I began to feel nervous.

* * *

We reached Las Vegas around five. We walked through the city and after a while, I said, "Whoa guys. Check that out."

All around us, there were casino's, replicas and hotels. It was amazing to see all these sights. Finally, we stopped in front of a casino that looked interesting. It took me a minute to decipher the big blue letters on top which read 'Biggest Kid's Casino Ever!'. We all looked at one another and Logan said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to play a few games for a few hours."

"Logan. We're on a time schedule like I said earlier," I answered.

"I know Christina. But it wouldn't hurt to take a break for a bit would it? I mean, we could stay in the hotel if they have one and then tomorrow morning catch a cab or a bus to like Los Angeles since that's one of the places that Poseidona and Athena told you where Alethia might be. Besides, it's only a four hour drive there and we still have three days left," Logan reasoned. I looked at the casino and then back at everyone else. I mean, yeah, we could use a break, but still, only three days left and we were only in Nevada. Sure Alethia could be in Los Angeles like my mom, dad and Logan just now mentioned. But Athena and Poseidon also said she might be in San Francisco City or just the area of San Fran called The Bay Area.

"But Logan, she could be in San Francisco City or just the area of San Fran which is The Bay Area."

"Ok well, still. Just for a few hours."

"I guess. But only for a few hours," I decided. We walked into the casino and in front of us there was a huge room. To our right, we found that there was a sign-in desk. On the left of the of the desk, there was an elevator. On the right was two doors that led to a small buffet restaurant. In front of us was some glass doors that led out to an outdoors pool. The lady sitting behind said happily, "Hi kids. My name is Shyra. Are you new to the casino?"

"Um, yes ma'am," Lillian said. She wrote it down on a piece of paper.

"How old are you? We need your age so we can determine what floor."

"What?" I questioned. I was a little cautious because you never know if the person could turn into a rampaging monster or something.

"Haven't you read the 'Age Sign'," Shyra said pointing to the wall that had a sign. On the sign there was a chart. The left column showed the age. The middle showed what games and the last column showed what floor. Ages 6-8 was on the first floor and it showed games that were meant for 6-8 year olds. On the second floor, the ages were 9 and 10 with games for them. Third floor was 11-14. Fourth floor was 15-17 and the last floor was 18 year olds only. I looked at Acacia, Alec and Kyra. They would be separated from us because of there ages. Alec was 11 while both the girls were 10.

"We're all 12," I lied.

"All-twelve-years-old-and-third-floor," she repeated as she wrote it down. "The rules of this casino," (I seriously didn't think there were rules to a casino except for have fun, and no doing crazy stuff), "any age group the kid is in, they can go to any floor below theirs. You can't go to the floor above yours," Shyra continued.

"So since we're on the third floor, we can go to the second and first but not the fourth or fifth floor? And if we're on the fifth floor, we can go to any floor?" Logan asked.

"That's correct," Shyra said. Lillian gave the Logan the look of, 'seriously?'. Logan glared at her the best he could and said pointedly, "Just checking to be sure."

"The elevator is right there on the right. You can come down to dinner any time you want. Enjoy your stay!" Shyra finished.

"Wait. Don't we have to pay?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nope! Your parents have paid it already!" Shyra answered, smiling. We looked at one another confused.

"Um, what do you mean?" Logan asked.

"Everybody gets a casino card if they apply for one. Then once they use it, they apply for any casino. They're signed in for any casino," she said.

"They are?" Lillian questioned glancing at me.

"Yeah. So you're paid already."

"Oooook," I said. I walked towards the elevator and the others followed.

As soon as I saw the third floor, all my worries faded. The floor was just games. There was a indoor bungee jumping place, waterslide, skiing and snowboarding area along with a skydiving chute. You would go into this huge tube that stands up and there would be this huge fan underneath you and the managers would turn the fan on and you would start to float. And there was even a huge ball pit were you could literally swim in the plastic balls below. The ball bit was about the size of a soccer field only round. Surprisingly, it even fit in the game room too of this hotel.

There were three floors for the ball bit. First floor was just all the balls, about chest deep. Second floor was were you shot the people below you, across from you or above you with the balls. The third floor was just full of different openings to different slides that weaved itself outside the ball pit, inside, around and in all kinds of directions before sending you back in to the first floor where you crashed into the chest deep balls.

In one corner was a huge place that was all just video games with 60 inch flat screen TV's. There was gambling games like casino type games. But they weren't like adult casino games. They were watered down to young teenager type casino games. Anyways, I snowboarded, bungee jumped, did the waterslide and skydiving chute at least seven times. I saw Lillian and Logan and everyone else going to different games that they liked. After a while, Acacia got bored doing the games by herself and asked if she could hang out with me. We both played some games, did the ball pit and finally, found the snack bar. As we ate, Acacia asked me something.

"Did you run away from your mortal family?"

I sat in silence.

"Yeah. I did," I said finally twisting my face. Acacia slurped her smoothie. "Me and Lillian ran away together," I added trying not to get mad. Bad memories were flooding back now. Lillian getting in trouble for accidentally breaking Brandon's Lego monster truck.

"I'm sorry if this is a sensitive subject. I should've left it alone," Acacia apologized.

"No, its ok. I guess we have similar situations." Acacia nodded uncomfortably.

"H-have you ever gone back?" she answered a bit nervous.

"Yeah. A couple of times. But each time, it's worse than the last." Lillian and I fighting with our step mom. Me getting the blame for hiding my younger sister's toy and me yelling at my step mom and dad.

"You?" I asked. She nodded.

"But that's because I would feel guilty then I would leave because things didn't turn out so well. Finally I left for good," Acacia said. We sat there in silence, drinking our smoothies. After a while, I felt like I was being watched. I looked behind me. No one was watching. I turned back but I felt the feeling again. I turned around once more.

"Hey, are you ok?" Acacia asked after I turned around for the fourth time.

"No. I feel like we're…" my voice trailed off because I had locked eyes with some kid in a black trench coat staring at me with cold piercing blue eyes.

"We're being what?" Acacia said looking to see who I was staring at. Then I noticed something about the kid. She looked like the one who had been in the lobby. Then I saw her when I was bungee jumping. Now she was near the snack bar. It was like she was stalking us.

"Like we're being watched," I answered. The kid smiled and I saw her forked tongue and sharp teeth. Wait. Forked tongue and sharp teeth?

Monster.

"Di immortales," I cursed. "We need to go."

"What?" Acacia exclaimed. I turned back around.

"Look behind you. Do you see that kid in the black trench coat? She's a monster." I said my voice serious. She turned. Then her eyes widened.

"Oh gods," Acacia murmured. We do need to go." We left our smoothies and got up, weaving our way through the crowd trying not to make it look like we were trying to get away.

"Oh man. How are we going to find the others in this mess?" I questioned worriedly. As we were weaving our way through worrying, we ran right into Kyra, Lillian, Logan and Alec.

"Thank the gods we found you!" I exclaimed. "We need to get out of here fast."

"Wait. What do you mean?" Lillian asked, cocking her slightly to one side.

"We're being followed by monsters. I've already spotted one," I said. I explained everything I had seen impatiently. Meanwhile, I could sense the girl in the trench coat getting closer.

"Oh my gods. This is bad. Very bad." Lillian replied.

"Yeah well, it's about to get a whole lot worse," I said, looking behind Lillian. She turned around and we saw more kids in trench coats.

"What do we do?" Kyra asked. I thought for a second.

"We're going to act as though we don't see them? So just play a few games but we have to stay as a group," I explained. They nodded. We all went to one of the gambling tables and played. Just then, one of the monsters came over and stood next to Logan. I could tell he was fighting the urge to bring out his sword and kill the monster. We played a few more hands of cards and purposely lost. By then the monster had left the table already. As we were walking around, I could see several of the casino security guards looking at us. We all stopped in one place and looked around for the monsters. Few seconds later, Logan was tugging my shirtsleeve.

"Christina, turn around for a sec will ya?" I did. That's when things got a lot more complicated. All the monsters were up ahead and making way through the crowd slowly but gradually. There was at least seven of them and they were all girls. Then I caught one of the security guards speaking in his earpiece and then spoke to another guard, pointing at us.

"Oh no. We got to go," I said. Everyone turned.

"All right, I saw watch you mean. Lets go," Lillian replied her eyes wide. We raced in the opposite direction. As we ran, I could hear several security guards following us. We reached an area but got blocked by some of them. We turned in all directions only to find that we were surrounded. Several of them drew their nightsticks.

"Hey guys," Logan said. "I thought we were here so we could have fun and party." A guard nodded to another behind Logan. I saw it coming but Logan didn't need my help. I guess he felt it too. He turned and kicked the guy behind him and the guy the first guard nodded to swung at me. I ducked and hit him. Lillian and the others got rid of them easily. One guy came at me and I ran backwards beckoning my hand saying, "Come on, come on." He ran at me and grabbed me but I put my arm behind his neck, him still facing me. I kept going and backed out at the last moment with my hand on his head as he slammed into the wall. Kids around us gasped. All my friends followed me and we burst through a door. We ran into a room full of people playing pool or gambling games at the tables.

"Hurry!" I yelled. Logan kept pace with me and as we past one guard, he swung his backpack off and smacked the guard hard.

"Nice one Logan," I complimented.

"Thanks."

I kept going and I came up to one boy who was playing pool with a guard next to him who saw me. I took the pool stick from the guy and the guard spun around to attack only to get the pool stick coming down on his shoulder. The stick broke and I flipped it so I was holding the jagged end as he hit the ground in pain.

Another guy came forward, shaking his hand saying, "Whoa, whoa put the stick down." But I stuck it on his left shoulder and forced him to the left. Then I grabbed his side and forced the stick back and just as he was about to bend to the right, I flipped him using the stick as a support. Another guy came forward with his nightstick drawn but I ducked his nightstick as he swung and got next to him, striking him in the bottom and then in the back. One tripped and fell onto hands and knees (convenient, huh?) and I stuck my hand on his back jumping over, kicking the fourth guard coming at me, in the chest. The fifth guard came forward but I hit him in the face with it before he could swing his stick. I dropped the stick, and ran to catch up with the others who were looking at me in astonishment.

"Holy Poseidon," Logan said. "That was amazing."

"Yeah I know but we've got other problems." I looked back and to my horror, saw that the monsters had caught up. However what was more worse was the fact they weren't disguised as females anymore. They had reptilian features and two twin serpent trucks. They were also carrying shields and staffs. Scythian Dracaenae.

"What do we do now," Kyra asked. The dracaenae lowered their staffs, preparing to fight. We looked at one another and did the most heroic thing:

"RUN!" I screamed.

"Get them!" hissed a dracaenae. We ran as fast as we could, shoving twelve to fourteen year old kids out of the way. We raced past another guard who turned startled. Then we heard him scream. He didn't see the dracaenae but he probably did see something unusual through the Mist. We ran towards the elevator but Logan yelled, "No time to get in! The elevator will take to long!" I swerved to the left and found a hallway. Hallway isn't really the word because it twisted and turned and sloped downwards. My friends and I sprinted past other doorways that led down other hallways. We began to reach the bottom but instead of going out the door in front of us that said 'Sign in Here', I took a right and descended down another hallway.

"Where are you going?" Logan panted. "The door was right there!" I didn't answer him because now was not the time. I burst through the door in front of us and ran out onto a deck on the pool. I stopped short so I wouldn't fall into the pool. I heard pounding feet behind me and knew automatically that whoever was right behind me was running at full speed and wouldn't be able to stop quickly. Judging by the footsteps and the panting and the voices, it was Acacia and Alec. I stopped Acacia and Alec from running right into the pool by grabbing the neck of their shirts. They bounced back looking at the pool water.

"Thanks," they said in unison. No one was in the pool or nearby, thank the gods because I had an idea. We turned around to see the dracaenae lining up.

"Great. Now what do we do?" Logan murmured.

"I have an idea," I whispered. I explained my idea to him quietly. He nodded.

"You are trap now," hissed one dracaenae. "Come with usssss demigodsssss, or fight usssss."

"Never," I snarled.

"Then die," they said. I closed my eyes and focused on the pool water, imagining it splitting in half and rising up to create a path. Behind me, the water responded. I heard Acacia, Alec and Kyra gasp.

"Go now!" I said straining to concentrate. Logan and Lillian guided the others through. The dracaenae took one look at the wall of water and then hissed, "Kill her!" They came at me but stopped short when they saw the water swirling around me feet rise up and thicken into a shield in front of me.

"Come on Christina!" Logan yelled. I moved back slowly, straining. Pretty soon I was a fourth a way through the path. The dracaenaes hesitated.

"What are you afraid of? Scared of water?" I taunted. They hissed in anger, lowering their staffs. Then some of them charged. I held my ground and as soon as they had got to the entrance of the path, I turned heel and ran. The came after me and as I began to reach the end of the pool, I lost complete concentration. The wall of water begin to collapse, crashing down. I jumped out of the pool and turned back to see the water swirling around like a vortex. However that was the least of our problems. The other dracaenaes could easily walk (or was it slither?) around the pool side. As if reading my thoughts, they began to.

"Fine then, you want to play it hard, so be it," I said half to myself. The others looked at me for an answer. I thought hard. What was it that my dad had said about my water powers? That he would help me? Then and idea that was dangerous popped into my head. I looked around for an entrance out of the pool deck. There! To my right on the fence was the door. But it was in the middle of the fence also at midpoint of the pool. I closed my eyes again and prayed hard. _Dad, wherever you are, help me with this dangerous plan. I need to get my friends out alive! Please Poseidon._ I opened my eyes and stared hard at the chlorinated water. All the water began to rise. The dracaenaes had obviously drowned, their essence returning back to Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld.

"When I say run you better move and get to that fence with the door. Get out fast," I said dangerously. They nodded. The water kept rising, turning into a funnel. The dracaenae came fast at me. I looked desperately at my friends. Then I locked eyes with Logan.

"Let me help Christina," he said.

"No. If something goes wrong with the water you will all drown, unless I know that you'll be able to save the others with your powers." He looked at me worriedly.

"But-," he protested.

"Logan please, go," I answered. He nodded. I tossed him my backpack.

"I guess. But be careful," he said.

"I'll try. Get ready." I hesitated. Then hesitated a bit more.

"RUN!" I screamed. The others ran for the exit and I stayed. The water came down, going everywhere. It seemed like there was more water than there was suppose to be. It sloshed up against the glass doors that led to the 'Sign In' area. The water crashed into me and the impact of it was so hard, that I went flying up. I saw the others trying reach the gate as the water came rushing behind them.

"Hurry!" I heard Lillian yell. The water meanwhile was swirling around inside the gates like the gates had suddenly became solid so the water couldn't get through. I came down and I crossed my arms over my chest trying to stay as straight as possible. Before I hit the water, the last thing I saw was the others leaving the gate. Then I slammed into the water. The water kept swirling around and I got shoved around. Then I rammed into something hard. I looked over and saw the fence. A few yards away was the door, the water not going out of it. I swam towards it but when I got to the entrance, something grabbed my foot and pulled me back. I spun my head around to see a dracaenae that somehow was surviving the water.

"Where do you think you're going?" it said underwater. The dracaenae voice sounded like the monster was losing its voice. I smacked it in the face so hard that it went carried away with the current. I swam out of the gate trying not to get pulled along with the current. I reached the gate, tumbling through and landing on hard concrete, knocking the breath from me. The others scrambled back in surprise. I laid on my back, looking up at the blue, cloudless sky. I couldn't breath.

"Oh my gods Christina!" Kyra exclaimed. I felt my breath come back and I began to cough. Logan helped me sit up. As soon as I did, I felt automatically dizzy. I coughed some more until I was finished. Then I pulled my legs up and put my head between my knees until the dizziness went away. A few seconds later I lifted my head and with difficulty, I swallowed.

"Are you ok?" Logan asked. I nodded and he took his bag off and fed me some ambrosia squares. He helped me to my feet and Acacia hugged me.

"I thought you were going to die," she cried.

"Yeah. I did to for a bit but usually, most of the time I am about to die," I answered smiling.

"What? Really?" she asked kind of stunned.

"Yep. And there is never a time that we aren't dying unless we are at camp," Lillian said. Acacia raised an eyebrow and stared with wide eyes.

"I guess it makes life a little interesting," I replied. I looked back inside the fence and saw the water beginning to recede back until it the water was back in the pool. Then I heard a hiss. We spun around to see one dracaenae that somehow had gotten behind us. Acacia stepped forward, growling.

"Acacia, get back," I instructed. She didn't listen. The dracaenae snarled and charged Acacia. Before I could do anything, Acacia opened her hand and fire burst to life in her palm. She threw it at the dracaenae and the monster went up on flames. Once the flames were gone, Acacia closed her hand and extinguished her flame. We all stared at her.

"Where'd you learn that?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said nervously. "I got really mad and then my hand caught fire." We stood there in uncomfortable silence. I thought for a second. Fire. Brown warm eyes. Brown mousy hair. I knew a goddess that had that. Then the goddess' name came to my mind. My eyes widened but I kept my mouth shut. I locked eyes with Acacia and had a silent exchange. We would talk about this later.

"Do you guys want to keep going?" Logan asked, breaking the silence. We nodded. Logan handed my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, I took one last look at the casino.

"Lets go," I said and with that I turned and began to walk, the others following.

* * *

**A/N:**** I just realized when I revising this that my casino sounded like the Lotus Casino and Hotel and like I got the idea from Rick Riordan. Truth, I didn't. A couple years ago before I started writing this book, I went on vacation to South Lake Tahoe and San Francisco (saw Golden Gate Bridge up close and personal) and other places in Cali and I also went to Nevada. And so I was staying in Las Vegas after a super long drive from The Bay Area and my siblings and I were talking about what kind of cool hotel would be awesome to stay in. And I came up with all the stuff I just described in the chapter. So don't think I took the idea of my demigods staying in a casino hotel IN Las Vegas. It was also like the week before I started reading Percy Jackson too. So no, it's not taken from Rick Riordan.**


	21. Hades' Poisonous Gifts

**Christina:**

We wandered the streets of Las Vegas, looking for some nice hotels that we could spend the night in without surprisingly getting robbed or attacked by gangs. Logan said this and that probably because I looked so dangerous and like I could kill someone. I told him to shut up or I'd kill him if he jinxed us.

As we strolled along, Kyra thought we were walking in a complete circle because to her, everything looked the same. Finally after walking for what seemed like hours, Logan spotted a hotel that looked interesting and actually pretty nice. It was called Hilton Hotel on 3000 Paradise Road.

"Oh wow. This is a nice hotel," I said. It was shaped like a 'y' with the longer line being curved backwards a bit. **A/N: Actually link to picture at bottom of page #1.** On one side of the Hilton hotel, there was a huge pool and I mean _huge_ pool. We walked in, paid for our rooms that I was surprised we even had money for and then took the nice elevator up to our floor.

Entering our room, we realized we actually had a quite a nice view. The room had two queen size beds with a leather couch at the end that had no head or armrests. Then next to one of the beds was a low but long white gate and on the other side of the gate was a small red couch and then a white run on the other wall with a desk across it on the other wall. **A/N: Picture link at bottom #2 and a second one for a different view.**

"Oh my gods. This place looks so comfy and amazing!" exclaimed Lillian. I nodded an agreement.

"Wow," Logan said. "We should head down to the pool though."

Everyone's eyes brightened at that suggestion. Once everyone was changed into bathing suits (I can't believe we actually packed our bathing suit and Kyra, Alec and Acacia actually just pulled on some shorts and shirts that we bought them) we went down to the pool that no one was at which was kind of weird. Either they were all at the snack bar or they were chilling in the hotel. Anyways, we all got in the pool and hung out for a bit until Logan decided to hit the snack bar. The others got out and started heading for it.

"Aren't you coming Christina?" Kyra asked with a curious gleam in her eyes. The others stopped and looked back.

"Nah. It's ok," I replied.

"Are you sure?" Alec asked.

"Yeah." The others didn't leave.

"You sure you ok?" Logan asked, cocking his head slightly to one side.

"Yeah. Seriously. Go. I'm fine. It's not like I'm going to drown. I can't, remember?" I said. They smiled and started walking.

I tried to think but with all the cars passing by outside the hotel area, it was impossible. I sank beneath the calm, chlorinated, blue water were it would be easier to clear my mind and focus on things I needed to. I sat at the bottom, my eyes closed as I thought about my dream that I had been meaning to tell Chiron when he Iris-messaged me, Hades message to me when I was with Artemis, and I thought about Alethia.

_You will fail to save her. You will fight and be at one another's throat, tearing yourselves apart. Join us and live to see her instead seeing her destroyed. I know your feelings for your brother and parents, your jealousy, your disbelief, your hatred for them. Kill the other powerful one and you'll be rewarded. If you decide not to then you'll see him die painfully and all your friends_, echoed part of Hades message. I sat remembering all the dreams about Alethia, trying to fit them together. But nothing, seemed to right.

I opened my eyes finally, staring around me when I noticed a movement above me. I looked up and saw Logan standing at the edge of the pool holding a glass in his hand and looking down at me. I swam up and burst through the surface, spraying water droplets around me. Logan sat down on the edge as I pulled myself out. I was dry of course being the daughter of Poseidon.

"Here," Logan said, handing me the glass that was filled with thick, green liquid with brown chunks that looked suspiciously like chocolate. "I thought you would like a mint chocolate chip ice cream shake."

I smiled.

"Thanks Logan."

"Are you definitely sure that you're ok?" Logan asked. "You look disturbed." I was about to lie and say I was fine but I realized that if I didn't share it with someone, it was all going to build up and I was going lose it completely. I shook my head.

"Christina what happened. Tell me. Don't think you can figure this entire thing out by yourself. I mean, I know you're pretty darn smart. Probably the smartest person I know besides Lillian. But you can't figure this out without our help," Logan reasoned. I looked him in the eyes.

"I guess but there is one thing I've been keeping from all of you guys. You know when Hades came to us when we were with Artemis and then later you asked me what he had said. I explained it to you right? Well I only explained half of it."

"You _what_? Christina!" he said in disbelief.

"Don't you get snappy with me Logan. I didn't tell you guys the other half because it would only scare you guys and you wouldn't focus. Also it wasn't time yet until I was sure that I had most of the stuff figured," I growled. Logan put his hands up in surrender, with a surprised look on his face.

"I'm sorry. It's just…," his voice trailed off. He probably couldn't believe I basically lied to everyone, including Lillian. But then again, what else had I been keeping from him also? I mean, Lillian didn't know anything and pretty much, I was keeping a few things from her; information that only I knew about from my past that only the gods knew and possibly Chiron.

"I don't know but I want to help because I think you are about to crack under stress. Anyways, what's the other half," Logan finally finished.

"Hades said that I would fail to save her and that we would fight and be at one another's throat, tearing ourselves apart."

"You almost said that when you were trying to shut me and Lillian up," Logan remembered. I nodded.

"After that he said I either join him and live to see Alethia or see her destroyed before I would be killed. He said that I know your feelings for your parents and your brother. My jealousy, my disbelief, and my hatred. And I don't hate you and I'm not jealous of you. I hate my parents and that's all. But after that h-he…," I stopped, swallowing hard.

"Christina. This is important. What was the rest of it?" Logan said sympathetically.

"He told me, 'Kill the other powerful one and you'll be rewarded. If you decide not to then see him die painfully along with all your other friends.' Those were his exact words Logan. He meant you. You Logan. And now I don't know what to do. I can't stand the fact if I lost you," I cried. I was trying as hard as I could to not to lose it. Logan could sense it probably and he hugged me, trying to calm me (and no its not gross that he was hugging me. If you were me and had gone through everything I had, then it wouldn't matter because your brave yet somewhat stupid brother when it comes to obvious things is trying to comfort you and help you).

"You won't lose me, I promise you," he said.

"How could you promise such a thing. You don't know what could happen!" I asked.

"Because I know you're going to do the best you can. I know that you can do this and pull us through. Not resting the weight of the world on your shoulders but I know you'll protect us all." I locked eyes with him and saw that he was telling the truth.

"I guess. Now let's go and get the others so we can all fool around in the pool," I said smiling a bit. We both got up and headed for the snack bar.

Two hours later, we were in our hotel room all dressed and relaxing, watching TV. Logan and I had told the others the rest of Hades' message and to our surprise, they had taken the information calmly. Logan and I told them not to worry until we had figured out some other things. After quite an amount of time watching TV, Alec got up, went over and looked at the beautiful nighttime view. He moved the red couch over to the white one and watched TV from there until he finally fell asleep. Logan moved the leather couch at our end of the bed over to the one by the gate, connecting them and making a makeshift bed. He didn't go to bed yet but he did stay up and talk with me Lillian and Acacia while Kyra slept in the bed by the gate.

"That was amazing what you did today," Logan said.

"Yeah," Lillian agreed. Acacia blushed then cocked her head to one side.

"I have a question," she said. "Don't your powers explain who your godly parent is?"

"Most of the time. Why?" Lillian asked.

"Because, I've been wondering who my godly parent is," she said. Lillian, Logan and I exchanged looks.

"Well the thing is, your godly parent has to claim you but sometimes, it doesn't happen. And we can't tell who your parent is," Logan said.

"Confession time," I murmured. The Lillian and Logan stared at me.

"What?" they said in unison.

"I have a confession to make. I kind of figured out who her godly parent is," I confessed. They waited for an answer. I looked at Acacia who nodded.

"I'm pretty sure that her godly parent is Hestia." Lillian and Logan looked at me with strange looks on their faces.

"Excuse me?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, you heard me. Hestia. The goddess of fire. Hearth. Home," I answered.

"And how would be so sure that it is?" Logan challenged.

"Gee, I don't know," I said sarcastically. "She used the power of fire today and she looks like Hestia."

"Anyone could look like Hestia," Logan argued.

"Unless you're a demigod. Look at the Athena cabin for an example. Blond hair. Gray eyes. And athletic."

"That's not you," he said.

"That's a totally different matter and you know it," I replied giving him a cold stare. He held my gaze confidently. "Anyways. Another example is the children of Hephaestus. Fingers never stop moving. Always creating things without thinking about it much. I mean they use fire also but there hasn't been a fire user from the Hephaestus cabin in like forever. Besides, Acacia and I talked and she can't necessarily build things. So there goes Hephaestus. And then, look at the Ares cabin. Mean. Always looking for a fight. Like weapons like crazy. Annoying. Bu-," but Lillian cut me off.

"Christina, stop being negative about them. You know better."

"What? It's true!" I exclaimed. Lillian smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"However, that's beside the point," I continued. "I'm quite sure that Hestia is her mother. But never mind that. We'll find out soon enough. We've got more important matters to discuss."

"Does it include me," asked Acacia, yawning. The others looked at me. I shook my head.

"Nah," Logan answered.

"Then I'm off to bed," she confirmed, standing up and stretching. She got into the bed next to the gate with Kyra crashed out next to her (and no, that's not disgusting. If you think it is, then you think quite wrong). We could tell that Acacia had fallen asleep rapidly because her breath steadied out as soon as her head touched the pillow. After moments of silence between us, Lillian spoke up.

"So what do we know?"

"Well let's see," Logan started. He paused and raised an eyebrow at me. "Did you write everything we know down?"

"Ha-ha very funny. No we did not. Why you would, I don't know," I answered.

"Because then we could keep track of everything we know so we wouldn't…," his voice trailed off because Lillian and I were looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know. It's just a suggestion!" Logan said in defense. Lillian and I looked at one another and shrugged but we came to a silent agreement. We would not let Logan remember pieces of information because for all we know, he would write it down. Athena children always remembered important pieces of information anyways.

"Ok stop. We're getting off topic. We know the person who took Lynch and Alethia has recruited Hades who has already hunted us down, trying to engage us to his side. We can't contact them either. Alethia tried to escape but didn't make it. The enemy told her we would fall for the bait and then they'd overrun us," I decided.

"Then the person was telling Hades that he'll be stronger if he joins them. After that, when I had my dream about the throne of Hades, the ghosts told me to beware because he would rise and will come to power so he can be king of the gods. Then he would overthrow the others and have his revenge. They said someone was controlling him. Then when Hades consulted me in my dream, he told me that we can't stop him. He said he had suffered for three millennia and that when he does rise, we'll be the first to feel his wrath," Logan added.

"Also, Hades is probably playing with our minds by saying Lynch is behind it so we can believe Hades and then turn around and kill Lynch," Lillian said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Oh yeah, and our deadline to save Alethia also," she put in. I nodded.

"Right. And when he came looking for us when we were with Artemis, he said that if we joined, we would have so much power that we wouldn't have to worry about training at Camp Half-Blood. Then Lillian and I would have enough wisdom to overthrow our mother while Logan and I also would have enough power over the sea to overthrow Poseidon," I said. We sat in uncomfortable silence.

"Hold up one sec. If Lynch went looking for Alethia and was captured, why didn't they kill him then? And if Hades is planning to overthrow Zeus, then why is he planning to overthrow Athena and Poseidon only?" Logan asked. I was kind of expecting these questions.

"They wouldn't kill him because they could put him somewhere else in California and then they'd try to split us up, dividing us so they can kill us easily. He probably planning to overthrow Athena and Poseidon only because those are our parents. But how do we know that he's not planning to overthrow the others gods?" I answered almost immediately.

"True Christina but maybe he's only trying to overthrow our parents because it will hurt us and then he'll make the other gods obey him out of fear," Lillian responded, looking at me with a twinge of sympathy in her eyes. I knew what she was thinking. I may hate my parents but I would be chaos if they overthrew our parents. I nodded.

"That's another possibility. So now that we definitely know what were dealing with and what they're trying to do, let's get some sleep," I suggested, standing up. Logan and Lillian nodded and I went to the bathroom, throwing on a tank top and some sweat shorts. Lillian followed my exact lead afterwards. Logan meanwhile had grabbed some blankets in the closet and took to the leather couches. Lillian and I crawled into the other bed and Lillian was out. I tried going to sleep but no such luck. I could tell that Logan was too. For some reason, I could almost read his mind, like we were connected. He was thinking about Poseidon's reaction when we would see the gods on Mount Olympus. However, slowly he began to drift into sleep with me right behind him.

I got out of bed bleary-eyed, being the last one to rise and walked over to the area where the white and red couch was.

"Good morning Christina," Logan greeted. The others said there 'good mornings' and I repeated mine back in a dazed, sleepy way. I sat down and rubbed my eyes. They were dressed and had been talking about random and funny things.

"We were planning on going out to a restaurant to get breakfast after you woke up," Alec said.

"Ok. But first let me get dressed before we go anywhere, thank you very much," I agreed, smiling. Few minutes later, I was dressed and we were ready to go. As we took the elevator down, Alec, Acacia and Kyra explained the details of what their past three months had been like before we found them. They finished their stories just as the elevator doors '_dinged_' open. We found on 3355 South Las Vegas Boulevard a restaurant called Grand Lux Café. We ordered our breakfast and ate, telling jokes and funny things. Once we had finished, we walked back down the street and back up to the Hilton hotel where we packed our bags, checked out and left. We hailed a taxi from the Hilton hotel but we had some trouble because the driver spoke Spanish.

"Hola. Cómo está?" The driver said.

"Do you speak and understand English?" Logan asked.

"Qué?" the driver answered.

"Obviously not. Anybody know Spanish?" Logan questioned, looking around. I glanced at Lillian who nodded and I stepped up to the driver.

"Hola. Cómo está usted?" I asked in Spanish. The driver looked pleased that someone was speaking his language. The others were looking at me in awe.

"Muy bien, gracias. Y tú?" the driver told me

"Muy bien tambíen. ¿Puede manejar nos usted fuera de Las Vegas y a la próxima ciudad que usted puede ir a?" I asked politely.

"Sí!" exclaimed the driver.

"Gracias!" I thanked. We got in and soon we were on highway 160. **A/N: Translation at bottom.**

"Wow Christina. I didn't know that you could speak Spanish," Logan said impressed. The others agreed except for Lillian who also knew Spanish like me.

"My step mom use to talk in Spanish. She would switch back and forth when she got mad," I explained bitterly. "So when she was cussing at us, we knew what she was saying because for once, me and my brothers decided to look it up and see what it meant. Then we got the hang of Spanish because she began to use it _a lot_," I finished.

"Still, that's amazing," Kyra said. As we rode along, we discussed what Lillian, Logan and I had talked about last night. We didn't have to be careful about what we said around the driver since he didn't understand a word. Then I mentioned what we had talked about with Acacia last night. We rode for a good hour until we had reached Pahrump.

"Esto es por lo que le pueda tomar pierde," the driver told me, turning around. "Lo siento."

"Su visto bueno. Gracias," I responded in the same tongue. "Cuánto haga le debemos?"

"Eso será ochenta-cinco dolares." I dug out the exact amount and handed it over. He counted it.

"Gracias, señorita," he said.

"De nada. Adios!" I replied.

"Adios!" Then we got out and the cab left us in a cloud of dust. I looked around and sighed heavily.** A/N: Translation at bottom #2**

"What is it?" Logan asked.

"Almost half the day is gone and we're stuck in Pahrump near the border of California. And we still have to figure out if Alethia is in Los Angeles, San Francisco City or The Bay Area," I growled.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure we'll figure it out as soon as we get to California," Logan reassured.

"Fine then. But if we're going to get there faster…," I responded, my voice trailing off. I handed my bag to Logan and he realized what I was going to do before I did so.

"Oh no Christina. I think this is a bad idea," Logan said.

"We need to get there faster before the deadline ends," I reasoned.

"You travel the way you do, you'll get heat sickness," Logan argued.

"It's the only way," I growled.

"Christina, you've been traveling in animal form for almost half of this quest. You need to take a break."

"Logan listen to me! I haven't been in animal form for three days now," I snapped. "You think I'm going to be able to sleep if Alethia dies? If we want to get to her before it's too late, this will be the only way!" Logan looked back at Lillian who nodded.

"Fine," he growled. I gave him one last look and changed. The others climbed onto my back and I started into a light sprint. Somehow, I managed to find our way out of the Pahrump without being spotted by mortals. As we rode, the others decided to tell a few cheesy jokes.

"Knock, knock," Logan said.

"Who's there?" they others answered.

"Who," Logan replied.

"Who who?" they said.

"Who who, you're hooting like an owl!" Logan laughed. The others laughed. Few minutes later.

"What did the hat say to the hat rack?" Alec questioned, trying hard to not suppress a smile.

"What?" the others said in unison.

"You hang out here, and I'll go on a-head!" Everyone started cracking up.

"How much is a skunk worth," Kyra said. We looked at her for an answer.

"One scent!" she finished.

"_I've got one_," I said in Logan's mind.

"Ok. Go ahead," he said to me. Everyone fell silent. I told him. He laughed.

"All right. Here's one of Christina's. What feathered creature is the most sarcastic of all flying beasts," Logan asked. The others shrugged. He smiled. "The mockingbird." Everyone laughed really hard.

"Good one Christina," I told her.

"Ha. I have one," Acacia said. We waited. "Why don't snakes use utensils?"

"Because they have forked tongues," Alec said.

"Dang it. How did you know!" she exclaimed.

"You've told that joke before."

"Oh." I flicked my ears at Logan.

"Hey, Christina got a riddle," I announced. I told him each line.

"A team of little animals and a team of big animals decided to play a game of football against one another," he recited. He listened some more.

"During the first half of the game, the big animal were winning. But," he stopped and listened some more.

"But during the second half, the little animals began to catch and they won thanks to the centipede that scored every touchdown," he said. He frowned as I told him the next part.

"When the game finished, the skunk, no, the chipmunk asked the centipede, 'where were you during the first half of the game?' Then the centipede," Logan trailed off, smiling.

"Then the centipede looked at the chipmunk and said, 'putting on my shoes!'" he finished. The others laughed harder this time.

"I've got two," Logan said after the others finished laughing.

"Go ahead," urged Lillian.

"What do you call a sleeping bull?" No one answered.

"A bulldozer!" Logan said. "And here's the second one. Why are fish easier to weigh than humans?"

"Why?" Kyra asked.

"Because they come with their own scales!" Everyone smiled.

"Are there any sorcerer athletes?" Kyra questioned. Everyone else just looked at her. Even I flicked my ears twice.

"Yes! Ma-mag-magic," Kyra stuttered a she tried to catch her breath because she was laughing. "Magic Johnson," she finished laughing. She kept laughing while we stared at her in silence. She noticed no one was laughing. "Ah-haha-ha, that's not funny obviously. Ok what vegetable is named after its own recipe?" she asked instead. We stared, hoping it wasn't a bad joke. "Squash!" We smiled at the joke instead. That's when I saw something appear in front of me that made me jolt to a stop, nearly throwing everyone off.

"Christina?" Logan asked, a little peeved. "What's wrong?"

I snarled, lashing my tail back and forth. Logan understood and his anger faded.

"Everyone, get off her back right _now_," Logan told everyone, his voice deadly serious. They jumped off. They didn't seem to notice what was in front of us. I changed into human and my hunting knives appeared in my hand.

"Christina, what is going on," Lillian demanded furiously.

"The Keres are here. This is bad," I growled.

"The what? Ker-," her voice trailed off, when she saw a dozen daimones in front of us. They were part humanoid and part bat. They were pug-nosed, and they had fangs and big, bulging eyes. Disheveled gray fur hung to their bodies and little by little armor covered each of their disgusting bodies. Their arms were shriveled and they had claws instead of hands. Then on their backs sprouted leathery, gray wings. But their legs were stubby so hopefully if they tried to run instead of fly, they would be slow. And worse of all, each of them had a murderous, scary look in their eyes along with foamy mouths.

"Oh my gods Christina," Lillian finished. She took out her sword. Everyone seemed to noticed the monsters and had their weapons ready.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Alec said. "Let's kill them!" He ran forward with my sword. I had let him hold on to it throughout most of the quest because he didn't have any other weapons.

"No!" I screamed as he sprinted pass me. I leaped like 10 feet forward (which is kind of far but I'm part animal so it's different) and grabbed a hold of Alec. I pulled him back just as the daimones slashed the air with its horrible claws. "Don't attack Alec!"

"Why? They're just monsters!" he yelled.

"Alec they're battlefield spirits and they feed on violent death. They usually stay in the Underworld but them being here is very, very bad," I answered. They hissed.

"Let him attack and learn a lesson from us. That will teach him if he were to live," one of them said. He stared at them.

"Christina, you know what will happen if they scratch you right?" Lillian questioned frightening. My face darkened.

"Yeah. I do. Let's just hope if we have to fight them, none of us will end up scratched," I answered. I turned around.

"Don't let them scratch you or your dead meat," I told everyone seriously.

"Why?" Kyra asked.

"I won't tell you because it will just distract you," I told her. Everyone nodded. Then Acacia's eyes widened. I turned around just in time to see one of daimones about to attack me. I threw my silver dagger at the daimones and pierced her. She let out a horrible wail and I picked up my silver dagger.

"You will die!" hissed a daimones. I took my bronze dagger out and turned it to Acacia. Lillian had given her dagger to Kyra.

"Use them well," I advised both of them. They nodded apprehensively. I turned, holding my daggers at my side.

"Good luck with that," I retorted. I nodded to the others and we charged the monsters. I stabbed as many daimones as I could but just as many appeared. I stabbed one and one of my daggers dropped. Before I could pick it up, another lunged and I sidestepped, quickly sticking my arm out and hitting it in the stomach. I hit just right and it flipped. I picked up my fallen dagger and stabbed it just as one attacked my from the back. I stabbed that one without looking.

"Die you ugly pug-faced bat!" I heard Alec scream.

"Hiyah!" Kyra yelled somewhere off to my right. I looked over and saw that she kept slashing one of the daimones. It would jump back and hesitate, as if deciding to attack or not. It was like she was taming the daimones with a dagger.

"You little-," I heard some colorful language from Acacia as one hissed at her which kind of shocked me considering her age. She stabbed other daimones, using some more colorful language.

"Die!" screeched a daimones behind me. It lunged at me. Luckily I spun around a split second before it could slash me, bringing my daggers with me. As I spun, I slashed its stomach.

"More like the other way around," I murmured as it evaporated.

Then I heard a yell and looked over to Logan in trouble. He was completely surrounded. He slashed a wide arch and disintegrated most of the daimones. However three had ducked. One leaped and he stabbed it. He slashed another arch to the one in front of him and it backed up. He spun around and got rid of the second one but that was his flaw. The one behind tensed and I could tell it was about to leap. Thank the gods I was close to him. I got there just as it did. Logan whirled around, but before he could raise his sword, I jumped in front of him, knowing that if I hadn't, he would've been in trouble. I raised my dagger thinking I could deflect its attack.

"Christina, no!" Logan yelled.

Too late. He watched in horror as the daimones slashed. It raked its claws down my right arm and I screamed in agony, collapsing as my right side seem to go burst into one thing only: pain. But I had managed to cut the daimones. Logan yelled in rage and slashed his sword through the daimones. The battle ended and the others rushed to my side. Logan knelt next to me, cradling my head as I yelled cursed.

"OH MY GODS! I looked at my arm and saw the blood. I screamed, "OH SHIT!"

"Holy Father Zeus…Christina," Lillian gasped as soon as she saw my arm. Logan shot her a look.

"Well come one! Give me some nectar and ambrosia!"

"That's not really going to do anything," Lillian murmured. Logan stared at her in complete disbelief.

"What? Wh-what do you mean nectar and ambrosia won't help her? It's the drink and food of the _gods_!"

"Logan, the Keres are the spirits of disease and pestilence which is highly contagious or infectious diseases. The thing is, nectar and ambrosia will only slow the infection down. In order to heal that, we need some serious healing," Lillian replied.

"Like what kind of serious healing?" Logan urged.

"A god's power," I murmured. "Or else, I will slowly die of infection."

Logan cursed in Greek.

"Anybody got a god handy?" he said sarcastically.

"Wait. Won't water heal her since she's the daughter of Poseidon?" Kyra asked. Lillian thought for a second.

"I don't think so. I mean water has always healed her but I think it won't this time. She has to have a gods touch in order to heal it."

"Oh, just an idea," she muttered half to herself.

"Someone go and get my backpack," Logan commanded. Acacia left and came running back with it. He opened the canteen of nectar.

"Logan," warned Lillian. "This is dangerous. Just a sip of that stuff is usually what most demigods can stand. Pouring it on her arm, it's like swallowing more than a sip."

"I know Lillian, but this is the only way we can slow the infection!" Logan snapped. He poured some on my arm and I clenched my jaw out in pain. The pain began to ease and I sat up and felt nauseous. Then I passed out. But it didn't seem like it because I had a vision. I saw Hades and a kid that looked familiar. Then with shock, I realized it was Dominick Martin, the son of Ares and he seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.

"My lord, the spies have reported that they are outside of Pahrump, Nevada. In one day, they have moved from Las Vegas to Pahrump. They're moving quickly.

"Oh they won't make it far," Hades answered.

"But my lord they've destroyed your Fu-," Dominick started to protest. Hades raised his hand.

"They'll never make it, not while the Keres have them distracted. They'll slow down so much when I send more surprises that they'll fail," Hades said calmly.

"You've sent the Keres?" Dominick questioned in surprise.

"Is there a problem with that?" Hades asked with a steely voice, regarding him with those cold eyes.

"N-no my lord," he stammered.

"Then go." Hades flicked his hand dismissively and my vision shut off. I opened my eyes.

"How long was I out?" I demanded.

"A few minutes," Acacia, Alec and Kyra replied off to my right. I sat up and a wave of nauseous rolled over me.

"Christina, you're not ready," Logan told me who was standing up now.

"Logan. We need to get to Alethia _right now_," I said firmly. Now I knew for sure who had taken Alethia and Lynch. Dominick was the enemy.

"What do you mean?" Logan said. "We've got two days."

"Yeah. Two days for Hades to try and make us fail," I said. I explained my vision and when I was done I said, "But what weird is the fact that the Ares cabin didn't say he was missing when I asked."

Lillian frowned.

"But then why was he here at the same time Alethia disappeared."

I thought for a second.

"I don't know," I admitted, feeling frustrated. I tried to stand up but I stumbled as another fresh wave of nausea washed over me. Logan caught me.

"Christina…," he warned. I managed to take a step forward without barfing, leaning on Logan heavily. As I slowly walked, the others gathered their stuff and followed. After a while, the nausea had passed but I was still weak. I was leaning less on Logan shoulder.

"Why did you jump in front of daimones when it attacked?" Logan asked.

"Because, you would've been injured worse than me if I hadn't. Besides, better me than you," I answered. I winced as I stumbled a bit.

"Why better you than me? We're the same," Logan said, steadying me.

"I told you, I wasn't meant to be born, so if I were to die, it wouldn't really matter," I confessed.

"But Hades wouldn't give you fair trail! And besides, everyone was meant to be born. If not, what would we be? What would we live for?" Logan replied almost immediately.

"Logan, it's true. A daughter of Athena _and_ Poseidon? They're both rivals," I answered.

"Why are they rivals?" Logan asked.

I shook my head angrily, not answering as I pushed past him. We continued walking west, with very little hope left in us and no real sense of direction.

* * *

**A/N: I just realized I can't exactly put the links on here so I'll post them under on the next page by itself. If you can't see the pics even when you put the link in, PM me and I'll figure something out. Also, on my bio, I said I was learning Spanish and I'm only in Spanish III so I don't know if it was right or not. So sorry if it's wrong. **

**But here's a translation of it:**

**#1:**

**"Hello. How are you?" (_driver)_**

**_Logan speaks._**

**"What?" _(driver)_**

**"Hello. How are you?" _(Christina)_**

**"Very well, thank you. And you?" _(driver)_**

**"Well too. Can you drive us out of Las Vegas and to the next town you can go?"_ (Christina)_**

**"Yes." _(driver)_**

**"Thank you." _(Christina)_**

**#2:**

**"This is as far as I can go. I'm sorry." _(driver)_**

**"It's ok. [Basic translation of 'su visto bueno'] Thank you. How much do we owe?" _(Christina)_**

**"That will be 85$ [ochenta-cinco dolares]." _(driver)_**

_**(Christina pays.)**_

**"Thank you ma'am." _(driver)_**

**"You're welcome." _(Christina)_**

**Review and subscribe please! Thanks**


	22. Picture Links from Chapter 21

**Pictures for The Missing Demigod:**

**Picture #1 w/View 1 of the Main Pool:**

imgres?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=619&tbm=isch&tbnid=mhPtsf86oDgpoM:&imgrefurl  
= tag/the-spa-las-vegas-hilton/&docid=HVeeYzotP1iHQM&imgurl=  
wp-content/uploads/2010/10/HiltonPoolExt_ &w=1024&h=680&ei=wRIWUNTqD4eu9ASXjIG4BQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=479&vpy  
=292&dur=2626&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=183&ty=141&sig=111803316881419671771&page  
=1&tbnh=126&tbnw=174&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0,i:98

**Picture #2 w/View 2 of the Main Pool (If you took a pic from this view, hotel behind you):**

imgres?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=619&tbm=isch&tbnid=SG0NLdws0-5LgM:&imgrefurl= /having-fun-at-blog-world/&docid=ss_I3zd1FudagM&imgurl= /images/oct09/hilton_pool.  
JPG&w=3072&h=1728&ei=ixMWUK2_J4ue8QS_noAo&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=831&vpy=  
159&dur=2645&hovh=168&hovw=300&tx=115&ty=135&sig=111803316881419671771&page  
=1&tbnh=101&tbnw=179&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:85

**Picture #3 of Room:**

imgres?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=619&tbm=isch&tbnid  
=MZI984CovvczPM:&imgrefurl= las-vegas-photo-archive-l-m&docid=nSCQ3IYG-TpzwM&imgurl= . &w=500&h=332&ei=_BIWUPTGH4ro9AT1  
toHoBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=109&vpy=291&dur=2426&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=164&ty=93&sig  
=111803316881419671771&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=177&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:92


	23. Killer Skeletons and Mr and Mrs Blake

**Logan:**

After seeing Christina in a terrible state, I wasn't quite sure if she could make it and if we could get anymore bad luck. But of course, I never know how wrong I am. After walking a mile, I was like literally carrying carrying her. We walked another mile and I was surprised that she was even alive. I was figuring after almost an hour of walking, she would have passed out from exhaustion or pain.

We continued to walk and Christina was beginning to again but after a while, we met our doom. Christina stopped abruptly, having to have sensed something but she dropped to her knees. Her silver bow appeared in her hands and her arrows materialized on her back, using the bow as support, she put it in vertical position, sticking the bottom in the ground a bit. She drew an arrow and pulled back, wincing. All my friends readied their weapons. In front of us, there was a clattering sound. Christina retreated the string to it's original position with the arrow still notched as a skeleton with leathery gray skin walked towards us, holding a gun. A dozen more appeared on all sides. Christina let her bow fall weakly to one side and she drew her knives somehow. I tried not to cringe when I saw them because they _were_ pretty wicked if you looked at them closely.

"Christina, what do you do when creepy skeletons attack with guns?" I asked her quietly. I mean, I knew she was in no shape to fight but she would argue with me and would win. Besides, even if I won against her by saying she couldn't fight, she would go against my word and insticntively do so anyways.

"I really don't have an idea. Only thing I know about these guns is that they can harm us too. In fact, any mortal weapon can harm us. We're twice as vulnerable," she murmured, managing to get to her feet.

"Nice to know when we have some pointed at us. Next time, give an earlier heads-up," I grumbled.

"Oh shut up. It's not like I can predict what's going to happen in the future," she answered. I gave her a sideways glance. One of the skeletons warriors stepped up to Christina and she slashed her knife through it body. It crumbled into a pile of bones but just as quickly, the bones began to knit themselves back together again.

"Great," I muttered. "Now what do we do with skeletons that can't be destroyed?" Christina didn't answer me. Instead she stabbed the skeleton in the chest and it went up in flames.

"All right then. I take back what I just said." That's when things turned from bad to worse. The skeletons loaded their guns. Christina let loose the Morph Sphere and chanted.

"Serve me as solid. Split to the five that are present." The Morph Sphere split into six pieces and five of them sped to each of us, surrounding us until we were each incased inside a blue ball. The skeletons fired but nothing harmed us. After that, we all came to the same conclusion that we could attack even if our weapons were inside our bubble. That's when we attacked.

I slashed the arm off of one and then stabbed it in the chest. But it didn't go up in flames. Once it had reunited back together, I attacked again and cut off its stupid head. It turned to dust. I whirled around as another chattered aimlessly at me.

"Come and get some Dry Bones!" I yelled. It opened fired and I deflected it off my sword. Then I stabbed it in the ribcage and it turned to dust. That's when Alec's bubble hit mine. I went rolling and crushed a skeleton that had ran at me. _Sweet_, I thought to myself. I pushed my hands to the sides of the spear and pushed down on the bubble with my feet so I looked like an X inside my bubbled. I rolled around, squishing skeletons. It seemed that Christina had had the same idea but she was struggling to stay in an X due to her state. Once we all had destroyed the skeletons, Christina said, "Your work is done. Return as pearl and serve as nothing more until thee is summoned."

Our blue bubbles shrunk and turned into a piece. Five pieces rushed to Christina who held up her piece of hers. The pieces connected and with a bright blue flash, it was back in its form. We stared at her in amazement.

"Where did you learn to use that kind of power of the Morph Sphere?" I asked in astonishment.

"I don't know. The words just came to mind," she answered honestly.

"Do you think it was Poseidon and Athena helping?" I said timidly.

"Maybe." She looked behind me and hers eyes widened. I spun around to see what she was staring at and we saw at least half a dozen of skeletons wearing redcoats and holding swords.

"How many do we have to fight?" I growled angrily.

The skeletons charged but in front of me appeared a shine of light. It began to get brighter and brighter and Christina shouted, "Avert your eyes!" We did and a brilliant flash happened. When we had opened our eyes, the skeletons had disintegrated and a guy stood in front of us. He looked about twenty five with salt and peppery hair. He had a helmet on and shoes that had little wings that fluttered restlessly. In his hand, he held something that looked very familiar. With a shock, I realized it was a caduceus with two twin snakes. The caduceus was the sign that was above Cabin 11 at camp. It was the sign of the messenger. In front of stood the messenger of the gods, Lord Hermes himself.

"Lord Hermes," Christina said, bowing and we followed her example. "This is a rare honor to see you."

"Hello Christina. I see you're on another quest and you have your sister with you. I can also see that you've found three new demigods." Then he looked at me. "Ah, this must be Logan Moore," he mused. "Nice to meet you."

"Lord Hermes, may I ask what you're doing here," Lillian said. "I thought gods weren't allowed to interfere with us mortals."

"Well you see, I can help demigods out a bit every what…five years or so? Anyways, I came to help you along your way faster. The thing is, your mom, Christina, told you that Alethia might be in San Francisco, The Bay Area or Los Angeles. Well she happens to be in Los Angeles," Hermes informed. Christian paled in the face even more despite the fact she was already as pale as can be. She winced, clutching her arm. The pain was so bad, that she crouched down and stayed there even after the fiery pain was gone.

"Oh no. Not there again," she managed to reply nervously.

"Yes I know you hate that place but that's the only place she's being kept. Anyhow, you're supposed to make a stop before you go to Los Angeles."

"Where are we suppose to stop at?" Christina asked suspiciously.

"At Oceanside," Hermes said slyly. "To have a little talk with, ah, you-know-who. They wanted to talk to you and Lillian." Christina locked eyes with Lillian, both of their faces full of hate.

"Well I don't want to talk to _them_ and neither does Lillian," Christina growled, trying to control her anger.

"Who?" I inquired mystified.

"Well, they want to because they have some things for you also," Hermes answered. "And if you ask how do I know them, _he_ somehow managed to summon me. Surprisingly, he can see through the Mist."

"Yeah well, I'm not going to Oceanside," she replied firmly. I looked at Christina and saw how tired she was. The gash from the Keres was sapping her strength. I wasn't quite sure if we could make it all the way to Oceanside. Then an idea came to mind. What had Christina said about the gash being healed? _What kind of healing_, I had asked. _A god's power. Or else I will slowly die of infection_, Christina had said. Hermes was a god, maybe he could.

"Lord Hermes," I cut in. "Can I ask a favor of you?" He looked at me.

"Yes Logan Moore."

"In order for Christina to make it to Oceanside, she needs to be healed. You see, about an hour ago, we were fighting the Keres and she was scratched by one. And the Keres are the battlefield spirits of pestilence and diseases. So if you're scratched by one, you need a gods healing power. So I was hoping you could heal her. After all, she is my sister and we need her," I explained.

"Logan, don't. For a favor like that, it would be a great cost to pay," Christina told me, wincing a bit. Hermes looked over at Christina's arm and noticed the wound for the first time which was hard to understand. I mean, she basically had doubled over after he arrived. He studied it and turned back to me.

"You say the Keres attacked you and she was injured by one of the daimones?"

I nodded.

"Logan, please," Christina pleaded. "He's going to ask for us to a favor for him which could be a great cost." Hermes turned back to Christina.

"If I heal you, will you go to Oceanside? You said you wouldn't go there. I know you don't want to talk to _them_ but they need to talk to you and your sister. This is my deal," Hermes offered. Christina thought about it. She locked eyes with me and I nodded.

"Then so be it," she said miserably. She held out her arm and I wanted to faint. I hadn't looked at the wound at all while we had been walking. It had swelled and now was festering and a sickly shade of green. In some places near the cuts, there were shades that looked almost black. Hermes gripped her arm lightly and she winced, her face tight with pain. Slowly, the cut began to close up, and the swelling reduced. The color of her skin returned and Christina breathed out deeply with relief.

"Thank you Lord Hermes," Christina said.

"No problem. Now I have one last thing for you. So you can to Oceanside faster, I'm going to send you there by giving you these." Hermes snapped his fingers and in seven pairs of shoes appeared at our feet. _Winged_ shoes.

"Put these on and you'll be on your way. There is two ways to use. I'm sure Christina will tell you. She's used these before," Hermes announced. "Now that you have a new lead, I must get going. Goodbye all of you. I will hopefully see you with Alethia on Mount Olympus." Hermes began to glow and we averted our eyes as he assumed his true form. Once he was gone, Christina looked down at the winged shoes.

"I have a bad feeling about this," she confessed, picking them up. Christina switched her black and blue Vans for the winged shoes. Once all my friends and her had laced up our shoes, Christina began to explain.

"Like Hermes said, there are two ways. One way is fly and the other way is running fast. But there are certain words for them. You can't say them in English. They only respond to Greek. The word for fly is '_mýga_' and the word for fast is '_grígora_'. However, even those words can be dangerous. Pronounce the words wrong or not say those words clearly can cause problems with the shoes. They can go disarray which is bad. Another thing about these shoes is when you're in the air, you can't say '_grígora_' because '_grígora_' is meant for the ground. When you're on the ground and you want to travel fast, say '_grígora_' and you'll start running fast, faster than your average speed. So now that you know the dangers, be careful," she warned. **A/N: My Greek Translation at the bottom.**

"Can we practice a bit?" Alec asked, nervously shuffling his feet. Christina nodded.

"Ok good. Mýga!" Alec practiced. His feet lifted off the ground and he was floating in midair. He leaned forward and he went forward a bit.

"Amazing! Wait, do we have to concentrate on trying to keep us in the air or can we think freely?" Alec questioned.

"You can think freely," Christina said smoothly. "Mýga!" Then she too was floating. She flew around.

"Ha! Watch this!" she called. She came to a stop and sat cross-legged.

"I think I'm going to start with the grígora first," I announced. I said the word as clearly as I could. My wings began to flap really fast. I burst into a run, running faster than I had ever done. It was amazing. Acacia had decided to do the exact thing. Lillian and Kyra were soon floating in midair. After a good five minutes of practicing, Christina told us we should be going.

"Anyone up for running instead of flying?" she asked. We all raised our hands.

"Then let's go."

We reached Oceanside by six. We switched back into our regular shoes and walked around the city. Christina, seemed to be heading for the beach because as we traveled farther into the city, I could begin to smell a faint smell of ocean breeze.

"Christina. What are you and Lillian looking for?" I asked.

"We're looking for 353 Justina Drive, Oceanside." She took a right, walk straight for a bit and then took a right, heading on to a court.  
"Here we are," she said bitterly. "353 Justina Drive." In front of us was a beautiful house. We walked up to the door and Lillian knocked. The door swung open and there standing was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes and a Mexican woman with a deep tan. The man squinted and then his eyes widened.

"Lillian?" the man said. Then he noticed us. He took one look at Christina but the look was loathing.

"Hi dad," Lillian said. With a shock, I realized I was staring at Lillian dad and step mom. To Christina, it was her stepparents. Mr. and Mrs. Blake. The mom seemed to noticed Christina and her face hardened.

"You brought _her_?" she said to Lillian like as if she couldn't stand to say Christina's name at all.

"Yeah and? Got a problem with it?" Lillian challenged.

"You know full well that _she_ is not welcomed! You may have gone with her but you will always be welcomed. She's not even mine or your father's!" spat the step mom.

"That _she_ is Christina. Treat her with some respect," Lillian growled. "You may hate her but that doesn't give you a right to talk to her like that." The mom sneered.

"Honey. How about we talk about this inside. My dear, what exactly are you doing here?" Mr. Blake said.

"We came here because we heard that you have something to tell us," Lillian answered dryly. Mr. Blake nodded.

"Very well. Come in." He held the door in and we filed in but as Christina passed her step dad, she glared. The house was more beautiful on the inside than the outside. In front of us was a winding staircase. To our left was a nice size living room with white couches that looked really comfy. The living room was connected to the dining room that had huge glass doors that lead outside into the backyard where there was a pool with a small circle one that was kind of deep. To the right of the dining room was a door that led to a kitchen. The kitchen was huge! A window showed the pool. But next to the kitchen was a huge living room with glass doors everywhere that led out to the porch. I couldn't imagine living here. It was so beautiful. We sat down in the huge living room.

That's when two boys and a girl came running in from playing in the pool. One of the boys looked about ten and the other looked about the same age. The girl looked about eight but I could tell she was spoiled because they way she acted. The boys looked like their dad and the girl looked a lot like her mom. When they saw Lillian they paused.

"Lillian?" they questioned. She nodded grimly. They took notice of Christina and the eight year old said, "What are you doing back in this house Christina? You don't belong here you freak." What was it? Hate-Christina-because-you-don't-like-her day (or hate-Christina-because-she's-not-part-of-your-family day)?

"Better watch your mouth little girl. I see you're still a bigmouth," she retorted.

"I'm not a little girl. I can do anything I want," the girl sneered.

Christina's lip curled into a snarl.

"Yeah I can also see you haven't changed your attitude and rudeness, Brianna," Christina shot back. Brianna ran to the kitchen and yelled, "Mom! Why is Christina here? She's being rude and mean!" Christina rolled her eyes. The step mom said something and Brianna came stomping in with her head held high.

"You have to go talk to mom," Brianna smirked.

"I don't live here anymore so I don't have to listen to anyone. Now _go_," Christina growled.

"No," Brianna said flatly.

"You better go _now_ Anna," Christina argued.

"I'm not Anna. That's not my nickname. You can't call me that so go to mom now," hissed Brianna. I could tell Christina had gotten under skin with that nickname.

"She's not my mother," Christina said.

"How about you get out of here _now_ and go to mom," mothered Brianna

"How about I don't and you do?" shot back Christina.

"No. Why don't you just leave? And who is he? Your boyfriend?" Brianna sneered, looking at me with a look of disgust.

"That's my brother you little bastard. Now why don't you just shut up and get out of here," snarled Christina, leaning in real close to Brianna's face. Brianna's eyes widened, and she went scampering back into the kitchen. Christina sat back and glared at her step dad as if saying, _why did you guys spoil that brat?_ Lillian cleared her throat.

"Anyways. What was it that you wanted to tell us, dad?"

"Actually it was to ask you a couple of things and to fix some of them," he replied, folding his hands. Lillian face darkened.

"If you're trying to fix what happened in the past and have us come home so we can go to school, it's not happening," Christina answered instead.

"My dear," Mr. Blake said. "As much as my wife hates you, I still want you and Lillian to come home."

"You hate me also because you didn't want me! I showed up on your doorstep in a golden cradle etched with blue waves, carried down by the Zephyr the West Wind! But as soon as you saw me, you knew automatically that I was a daughter of Athena but not your daughter like Lillian. You may have taken me in but that didn't stop you from hating me." Then you married Miranda who hates so much that I was neglected! And you went along with her!" yelled Christina. I could feel her emotions building up. I grasped her wrist. She didn't draw away thank the gods.

"You may have been the daughter of Athena and not mine, but I loved you!" Mr. Blake yelled back.

"Yeah? If you loved me so much, then how come you played along with her, neglected me and blamed everything on me? And if you loved Lillian just as much, why did you treat her almost the same way? After monsters attacked, you and Miranda would always shout at us about how we were endangering this stupid family!" answered Christina. I squeezed her wrist. Mr. Blake opened his mouth but he had nothing to say. Then Mrs. Blake came in and said something to Christina.

"¡Puesto usted jamás habla con mi marido como eso! ¡Y le se puso jamás habla de mí como eso!" the step mom shouted in Spanish.

"¡Puedo si quiero a. Me puse vive aún con usted ya tan yo me puse tengo que escuchar cualquiera de usted!" Christina shouted in the same tongue.

"¡Usted idiota pequeño! Supe tan pronto como yo le vi que usted y su hermana sería nada más que problemas!" Mrs. Blake objected. I stared in horror at her. The only word I understood was 'idiota pequeño' which was 'little idiot'.

"¡Nosotros siendo los molestos? Usted me ha odiado y usted es el idiota pequeño usted-," Christina said some colorful words in Greek and English. "monsters atacó porque somos semidioses! Supo que una vez su marido lo le explicaba!" Christina snapped. Mrs. Blake was about to say something but thought better of it. She sneered out Christina, gave her one last look and went outside.

"That's what I thought," hissed Christina, watching her leave. Christina called her a few more colorful words in Greek. Then she turned back to her step dad.

"Is that all?" she growled.

"No. I also heard that you were on a quest to save your friend Alethia," Mr. Blake answered. Lillian nodded.

"Well I was thinking that you could just get showered and stay the night so you guys can be refreshed," he suggested nervously. Mrs. Blake came back in and listened to the rest of the conversation, regarding Christina. Christina was about to object but I nudged her. I locked eyes with her.

"Please," I whispered. "We could all use with some rest."

"I don't want to stay here at _all_," she whispered back.

"Christina, please. I know you hate this place but we need to catch up on some sleeping, especially you," I pleaded. "Please Christina." Her mouth twitched in annoyance.

"Fine then. We'll stay for the night," she sniffed. "But you had better make sure that Miranda stays away from me and leaves me _alone_," she added, glaring at her step mom with so much hate that I thought it would explode from her. Lillian and I exchanged looks and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. We would talk to her later on.

We stood up and left the room. Christina however went outside to the pool area and stood looking out the fence. I explored the house for a bit with the others. Then we decided that we should all get into the pool. I changed quickly and as the others did; I went out to find Christina still there. Her hair color had changed to honey blond.  
"Hey."

"Hi Logan."

"You getting into the pool?"

"Maybe," she said. I stood in uncomfortable silence.

"I wanted to ask you something," I said after awhile. "Something about your parents." Christina turned on me, her gray eyes lit with a cold glare.

"And exactly what is it?" she answered bitterly.

"You said that you're dad-," she raised an eyebrow.

"Um, you're step dad," I corrected, "explained the monster thing to your step mom? Can he see through the Mist?" She turned her head back around.

"Yeah. I'm not sure if Miranda does but she seems to understand the whole 'monster' thing," Christina told me, making air quotes.

"I guess that's a good thing because then she doesn't freak out."

"You call that a _good_ thing?" Christina growled.

"Yeah. I mean if-,"

"Do you know what it was like living in the household with her and knowing that she understood the monster thing?" interrupted Christina. I opened my mouth to speak but Christina was in a roll.

"Every single time a monster attacked, she'd get angry because she thought that we were trying to kill the family by doing dangerous things. Like we ever did," she said sarcastically. "She would also think that the monsters were our fault." She took a deep breath.

"Christina. I'm sorry if this is bothering you. I shouldn't have brought it up because I know you haven't seen them in years," I said apologetically. Christina didn't say anything.

"The truth is, Lillian and I did go back a couple of times," she confessed.

"You did?"

She nodded.

"And let me guess. Didn't go very well?" I guessed.

"Yeah. Each time was worse than the last. Then finally I decided with Lillian that we shouldn't go back anymore."

"Oh. Well now that this matter is covered, are you getting in the pool at all?" I asked. She looked at me and smiled.

"You bet," she answered.

* * *

**A/N: This is not a lie: I can speak Greek and the Greek words used in the chapter will be switched over to my translation. Also, I will put the Spanish translation.**

**Greek Translation:  
****Mýga: Fly  
Grí̱gora: (General Translation: Fast), (Actual Translation: Quickly)**

**OTHER GREEK TRANSLATIONS:  
Tachýtita: Speed  
Tachéo̱s: Rapidly**  
**Grí̱gora tréchei: fast run**  
**Tréchei grí̱gora: run fast**

**Spanish Translation (once again, I don't know if it's right. I'm only in Spanish III so I apologize to those who understand Spanish a lot better than I do if it not the correct one):**

**"Don't you ever talk to my husband like that! And don't ever talk about me like that!" _(Mrs. Blake)_**

**[Basic translation]: "I can if I want to. I don't live with you guys anymore so I don't have to listen to any of you." _(Christina)_**

**"You little idiot! I knew as soon as I saw you and your sister, you would be nothing but trouble!" _(Mrs. Blake)_**

**"Us annoying? You hated me and you're the little idiot you-, " _(colorful words in Greek and English) _"Monsters attacked us because we're demigods who was explained this by her husband!"_ (Christina)_**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND SUBSCRIBE! THANKS!**


	24. The Missing Demigod and We're Stumped

**Logan:**

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready. After grimy travel and fighting monsters, a shower last night felt really good. Anyways, I came down and found Mr. and Mrs. Blake in the kitchen cooking breakfast. In the living room, I found Christina and Alec doing the Staring Contest, while Acacia, Lillian, Kyra, and Gordon and his brother Alejandro cheered them on. Alec was pretty good. He seemed to go on forever. Eventually his eyes began to water. Then he blinked.

"Yeah!" Lillian and Acacia yelled.

"Ha-ha, you look like you're crying," Christina teased Alec.

"Ah, shut up," he said laughing.

"Morning, Logan," Lillian greeted.

"Morning," I replied.

"Want to join Logan? We're about to do a championship one now," Christina asked.

"Sure."

"Alrighty. Who wants to verse who?" Christina said.

"I'll take Acacia," Alec said.

"I take my older brother," Alejandro said.

"Anybody want to verse me?" Christina challenged.

"I'll do it," Kyra said.

"And I guess that leaves me with Lillian," I answered.

"Yes. We can see that, Captain Obvious," Lillian laughed.

"Ready. Set. Go!" Christina started. I stared into Lillian's eyes. After a while, I couldn't stand it anymore I blinked. I could tell Alec had lost to Acacia and Kyra had to Christina. But the two brothers will still holding each other's gaze. Finally, Gordon gave in.

"Who won?" Christina questioned.

"I did," Lillian answered.

"And me," said Kyra and Acacia in unison.

"And we know who Alejandro won," Christina said. "Now for the next round…"

We kept going through rounds. In the end, Lillian, Gordon, Alec, and Christina were left. Christina knocked out Alec and Gordon out of the game. Christina stared into Lillian's eyes, smiling.

"I don't think anyone is going to win. You know the trick so you can go on forever like me," Christina told her. Lillian laughed.

"I know right?" After a while, they tied the game.

"Nice one," Lillian said.

"You too."

"Arm wrestling challenge now," I said. Everyone agreed. We split into who we wanted to take on. Alejandro and Gordon watched me and Christina duke it out.

I laid my elbow on the table and firmly grasped her hand. She grasped mine and purposely squeezed it hard.

"Ow, jeez Christina. Trying to weaken me before we even start?" I asked grinning.

"Sure, whatever you say," Christina answered, winking.

We started the contest and I struggled to put Christina's arm down. She was almost impossible.

"You're not beating me because you're powerful or because you doused yourself in water right Christina?" I asked.

"Nope. It's just pure strength from working out at camp for all these years."

"Sure."

I struggled some more as the others cheered us on.

"Your face is turning red Logan," she commented after a while.

"Yeah and your fingers are turning blue."

"That's because you're squeezing them you big dolt."

"Thanks. Feel so loved."

"You should."

"Aw shut up."

"Are you two dating?" Gordon piped in.

"NO!" Christina and I said at once, turning our heads to give him the DUH! Look. Christina glared instead.

"He's my brother. My _true_ brother for your information Gordon," Christina hissed. He sneered.

"Well excuse me, _sister_," he mocked.

"Step sister or fake sister you little bastard. Learn the difference," Christina retorted, slamming my hand down against the table. I think her anger made her more powerful. She let go of my hand I rubbed it.

"Sorry Logan," she apologized in a different tone.

"No problem."

"And you're the one to talk about being a little bastard," Gordon finally said.

"Took you long enough to think that one out, didn't it?" Christina snarled.

He grew silent for a few minutes and Christina and he glared at one another, a look of loathing showing in their faces. Gordon said something in Spanish and Christina said something else back that made him gasp out loud. He was about to say something but was interrupted by his mom.

"Breakfast!" yelled Mrs. Blake. As we sat down at the kitchen table, she laid out eggs, bacon, Tabasco sauce, hash browns and juice. We served ourselves and dug in. It was delicious. By eleven, we dressed and were getting ready to leave.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" Brianna asked me.

"Because we got a deadline to beat," Christina answered sourly, walking up, her bow slung over one shoulder and a quiver bursting with arrows on her back. Brianna's eyes were as big as quarters as she stared at the weapon.

"Yeah. Ok," Brianna finally answered after a second, as she tore her eyes away from the bow and arrow. She didn't sound convinced. "So exactly why are you leaving so early?"

"Just like Christina said. We got a deadline to beat before something happens," I repeated.

"Oh." As we were still getting ready to leave, Mr. Blake pulled Lillian and Christina aside and talked to them. Once we were ready, Christina and Lillian didn't look to happy as they walked out the door, talking quietly. The three demigods and I thanked Mr. and Mrs. Blake and left with Christina and Lillian in the lead.

We walked for hours. We reached a forest and Christina sensed something. She looked behind us and then her eyes widened. We followed her gaze but didn't see anything. Christina began to move quicker.

"What exactly did you see and where are we going?" I asked irritated.

"Didn't you see them?" she questioned.

"No. We saw nothing. I don't know if you're cracking under stress, or what but I think you're hallucinating," I answered.

"I'm not hallucinating!" she snapped. That's when we heard angry barks and a couple of bellows that shook the ground. Acacia, Kyra and Alec froze in their tracks.

"No. It can't be," Acacia gasped looking back.

"I thought it stopped following us," Alec said fearfully.

"Alec, you said you killed it!" Kyra interjected, turning on him.

"I thought I did. I must've misjudged," Alec answered.

"Gods he's that desperate. This day is about to get more complicated. Please don't tell me that that was the sound of the Teumessian Fox and Laeplas," Christina feared. Alec didn't meet her eyes. She looked at Acacia who also wouldn't meet her eyes. Then Alec spoke:

"It is," he whispered.

"Dude, then we're all dead. The Teumessian Fox was designed to never be caught but it still hunts. Laeplas is worse. Do you know what Laeplas was designed for?" Christina said, fear in her eyes. I'd never seen her look like that. Lillian was so pale, I thought she was going to faint.

Alec shook his head to the question. Kyra looked worse. Acacia obviously knew what she was talking about. She was trying hard not to cry.

"Alec. Laeplas. Think," she said, snapping her fingers. Alec's eyes widened.

"I know what it's designed for," he answered.

"Laeplas is a dog with amazing ability to get _whatever_ he hunted. If Laeplas is hunting us, then it'll get us. We can't run because we won't make it," Christina answered.

"Then what do we do. Fight them?" I asked, frustrated. She locked eyes with me.

"We can't Logan, the Teumessian Fox like I said, is designed to never be caught and Laeplas will catch us. The best we can do is run I guess for as long as we can," she replied.

"But you just said we can't run," I remembered. She looked back and started sprinting away without answering my question. We sprinted after her.

As we ran through the forest, shoving aside branches, we could here pounding of paws coming.

"Faster!" Christina panted. But the faster we seem to run the closer the paw-steps got. That's when a huge fox leaped out in front of us. We stopped.

"The Teumessian Fox," Lillian informed. "Born to Echidna, Mother of Monster." It wasn't much of a morale booster.

Then Acacia turned around and screamed. I looked back and saw a dog leap out of nowhere, sailing over our heads and tackling Christina. She changed into an animal and attacked it. They grappled for a few minutes until Christina turned into a human which was her mistake. It lunged at her and landed a forepaw on her chest and another on her stomach. Christina gave a painful gasp. I could see it claws were out so I figured it was digging into her skin. The dog leaned in close to her face and growled. I took out my sword and was about to charge when a voice spoke.

"I wouldn't attack Laeplas unless you want Christina's throat torn out." I looked forward and saw a human form strolling forward. I squinted and Kyra gasped. In front of us stood Dominick Martin.

"What do you want with us?" I snarled.

"Oh nothing really. Except for your guy's pledge to Hades, and of course your death. But I'll leave that to Laeplas. As for the rest of you demigods, you'd better pledge your allegiance or you can die a painful death," Dominick said.

"Yeah, like we'd ever join you," I said. Laeplas growled. Christina gasped again. I could see beads of blood appearing.

"Well fine then, I'll make a deal. I let you fight me. If I'm defeated, then I'll let you go. But if you're defeated, you'll watch as Laeplas leave permanent scars on your sister and Lillian. Then I'll let him kill you, Acacia, Alec, and Kyra," Dominick answered.

"Logan, don't accept the challenge," Christina told me. Laeplas growled again and dug his claws deeper. Christian cried out in pain. I shook my head.

"Only way," I told her.

I looked back at Dominick and said, "I accept the challenge."

"Good, because you are so going to lose," he sneered. He lunged forward and I deflected just in time. That's when a man's voice came into my head.

_Save her before all goes wrong. Fail to save her and you'll see how ugly Laeplas will make the scars. Succeed and protect her for some time from whatever you will face next._ I knew that voice. It was the voice of Poseidon. I looked at my helpless sister and at the other demigods. Then I attacked Dominick.

I swung blade to his side he deflected. I feigned a blow to the head and he ducked but I hit his feet and he fell. I slashed downwards and he rolled away. He jumped to his feet and swung his sword up and I met it with a kick to his chest. He went flying but he got up and came at me. He tried a head cut and I ducked. He thrust forward and I stopped him. I pushed his blade away and counterattacked. He sidestepped.

_Dislodge his blade_," said a new voice in my head. It was Christina's. He attacked and I tried to dislodge it but couldn't.

_Dislodge it by using the move I first taught you!_ Christina voice said urgently. He attacked again and time seemed to slow. I knew what she meant. As soon as he swung his sword, I hit the base of his sword and thrust downward. The blade fell from his hand and was about to retrieve it but I kicked his blade away and stuck my sword and inch from his chest. He went cross-eyed at the sword.

"I won. You're going to let us all go," I growled.

"You didn't make me swear on the River Styx," he answered.

"What?" I said momentarily confused.

"HA!" Dominick yelled. He thrust out his hand and a black swirling vortex appeared. It grew bigger and bigger until we were encased in the vortex. Everything was black for a moment. Then I hit the ground. I stood up and saw that we were all in the same position when we left. Then Christina screamed in complete pain. I looked over just in time to see her land on her back again with Laeplas on top. I guess the impact had caused the claws to go deeper.

"Let her go!" I yelled at Dominick. He sneered. I summoned the Morph Sphere and Dominick laughed.

"What are you going to do? Throw a water ball at me? It won't do any harm."

Little did he know that I could make the ball solid. I focused on forming it until it was solid. I guess to him it still looked soft. I threw with all my might. I figured he could just easily dodge it but he laughed and said, "I'm just going to stand here because it won't do anything except for get me wet." The Morph Sphere sped towards him and made contact to his stomach. He stopped laughing and doubled over.

"What the?" he gasped. The Morph Sphere reappeared in my hand.

"Want to play with solid water? Try me again," I taunted. His eyes widened and in a whirl of black he disappeared along with Laeplas and the Teumessian Fox.

I helped Christina up and saw her cuts. Laeplas had managed to make big claws slashes across her shirt. I could see the wounds beneath where Laeplas had left huge claw cuts. I gave her some ambrosia and we looked around at our surroundings. Once Christina had figured out where we were, we walked.

"Are we anywhere near Los Angeles," I asked after a while. It was three by now so the sun was in our eyes as we trudged after Christina.

"I think," she said nervously. I stared at her because she was sickly shade of green.

"What's wrong?"

"The entrance to the Underworld is here and something else. Something I can't pinpoint but it's something really familiar. I don't know but I feel like I belong here somewhere but at the same time, I also feel like I don't."

We continued to walk in silence.

After some time, we saw two low hills. As the hills met, in the middle was a wide tunnel with two lanes of traffic each going in and out of a tunnel on either side of a wide sidewalk that was going down the middle. On either side of the tunnel at the entrance was one of the traffic bridges, allowing people to walk across them as traffic flow beneath them. Both of the bridges led to the sidewalk. We needed to get to the other side and as we crossed the bridge, Christina stopped in the middle, staring down at the stairs and across the sidewalk. About twenty feet away was a maintenance door with what was that? Two people in heavy armor, scabbards hanging at their sides and purple plumed helmets? I blinked, rubbing my eyes to make sure I was seeing correctly. Yep I was.

"Christina?" I asked nervously.

She was gripping the railing, looking like she wanted to hurl.

"What is going on?" Lillian asked concerned. The other three demigods were watching carefully.

"It's here. I know I belong here. Oh my gods, what have they done to me? What in the name of Hades?" Christina murmured, glancing at the two purple plumed helmet warriors. She was shaking violently. And she looked different. More military like and stronger and serious. I caught a glimpse of something on her right forearm. But I couldn't see right. Something was definitely not right.

"The gods. Rivarly. A war. Roman. Greek. Roman. Greek," she murmured. She shook once more violently and she began to walk away, still staring at the warriors. She made it across the bridge to the other side. We followed her but didn't ask about what happened. We were too scared to. So I asked instead:

"What did you mean, 'Oh no. Not there again' when Hermes told you Alethia was being kept in Los Angeles?" I questioned.

"I meant that I really didn't want to go to that city again because I hate it there," she told me.

I looked at her kind of funny. "And why do you hate Los Angeles?"

"Because that's where Hades' palace is," Lillian cut broke in. "Two years ago, she was there with Lynch and me for something we didn't do. We barely made out of his palace alive. By the time we got back to camp, we had some nasty monsters pursuing us for making Hades, well, 'unhappy' because we made him look bad."

"Excuse me, but who invited you to talk with us," Christina teased.

"Gee, I don't know." She looked at me.

"What? Why me? I didn't invite you!" I laughed.

"Mmm, you and the questions," Lillian replied. Christina cracked up.

"You girls always gain up on me," I grumbled.

"Deal with it. You're stuck with me for life, unless something happens," Christina answered, bumping me with her shoulder. We continued to walk for hours. By 4:30, we reached Los Angeles drenched in sweat, hot, sticky and tired like crazy.

"Now where in Los Angeles could she be?" I questioned, looking around.

"Some place where mortals wouldn't see them," Acacia answered.

"True," Christina said. She looked around and then gasped.

"There! On the mountain!" We all looked where she was staring and saw blue and black light flashing. Christina looked at the road we were on and started sprinting away.

"Hey! Wait! Don't you know where you're going?" I yelled. She didn't answer but she was beginning to get out of view. We caught up with her as the road wove its way up the mountain. We kept running and Christina veered to the left, following on small trail. We soon heard yells as the flashing got brighter. Up ahead were some bushes but Christina to a stop before them. She nodded to Lillian who gave her bronze dagger to Kyra. Christina gave her bronze dagger to Acacia. Alec had his sword ready. It was an extra sword that Christina had found at her house. Christina, Lillian and I took out our swords, looked at one another and burst through the bushes to find a fight going on.

A girl with black and hair and electric blue eyes had a spear that crackled with blue electricity. I figured that was Alethia. Another guy with blonde hair and blue eyes was fighting her. I realized with a shock that it was Lynch. I saw Hades standing there, observing. Christina and Lillian gasped, lowering their weapons. Alethia spun around and saw us standing there but while she was distracted, Lynch knocked her down. Huge giants came forward and Alethia tried to fight them. They grabbed Alethia and held her down while Lynch walked forward, twirling his sword.

"Lynch, what is going on? Why in the world were you fighting Alethia?" Christina asked. "I thought you had been captured!" Lynch smiled.

"It's good to see you alive Christina. However, I wasn't captured. I _took_ Alethia. I sided with Hades."

"We thought Dominick was behind this! He was consulting with Hades. He went after us! He talked to Alethia when we tried to Iris-message you which didn't get through very well," Lillian answered.

"Yes, but he was just an assistant to help me with my great victory. I consulted with Hades long before he did. I sent him after you with the Teumessian Fox and Laeplas. They caught you so you could be sent here more quickly. The Iris-message had been cut off so I wouldn't have you nosing about in my business unless you were going to join," Lynch explained.

"Why did you want us to get here more quickly? How did you stop the Iris-message? And why did you want my throat torn out, Logan to fight and everyone else to be in danger? If you wanted only one or two of us, you should've just have taken us instead!" Christina yelled.

"I didn't want your throat torn out. I told Dominick to reason with you and not try to kill you. As for stopping the Iris-message and getting you here quickly is a different matter. I managed to use a little magic, thanks to Hecate to convince Iris of cutting any message to me or Alethia or anyone else who had sided with us. The reason I wanted you here more quickly is something that I'm not explaining to you. And maybe I wanted all of you so the Olympians could grow more weaker," Lynch explained. Christina snarled.

"Maybe you should've just kidnapped me instead. I trusted you and so did Lillian. You're a traitor to your family and to the Olympians!" she said.

"And why did you take Alethia if you wanted us?" I asked. "You went through all that trouble to get to us. I mean, like Christina said, you could've kidnapped her from the start but then I would have to kill you for that without the truth. However, you went through all that trouble. Why?"

"Because, I needed a powerful child. Someone who was the son or daughter of the king of the gods which happens to be Zeus. So I took Alethia so she could join me to help overthrow her own father. It was also a trap to lure Christina and you. Christina is the daughter of two powerful gods. Her mother, Athena is the daughter of Zeus and Christina could easily overthrow her mom. Also being the daughter of Poseidon, brother of Zeus, this could be another way. But as soon as you were claimed, I knew you could also be another person to use to overthrow the Olympians. As for Lillian, we could use her intelligence and her help to overthrow Athena also," he told us. "All I need now is for you guys to join me so I can be more powerful than I am now." Christina shook her head.

"Well if you think you're so powerful, fight me. You know everyone at camp sees me as the greatest fighter of this millennia. If you've got the strength then come over here and see if you're any match to my skills," Christina challenged.

"Everybody may see you as that but I'm the second best fighter and you know that deep down. Just because you're better than me, doesn't mean that I can't still beat you. And I will," Lynch said.

"Then you're a fool. You don't know what you're facing. You'll never match my skills," Christina growled.

"Lynch. Think who you're about to fight. You won't make it. I've fought her before and I have fought next to her. I know what you're about to face," I cut in, trying to reason with him.

"Oh, I know what I'm facing. But you're too weak to beat her, Logan. Besides she's blind to see what the Greek world is becoming of," he said, looking at me.

He looked back at Christina. "One on one just like the old times." The color drained from Christina's face.

"Those times were different. This is now Lynch," she answered. "But fine then, one on one it is. I win, you free us. I lose, do whatever you want with us or kill us. What are you afraid of?" He hesitated. I guess he could see now on the downright side, Christina was probably going to win.

"It's a deal. And we'll have no distractions," Lynch smiled. He snapped his fingers and a huge pitch black cloud swirled around me and my friends. I heard Acacia and Kyra scream. Then Alec yelled. I was standing shoulder to shoulder with Lillian at the time but I felt her leave my side, then the next thing I knew, I was grabbed.


	25. The Battle

**Christina:**

After hearing Lynch's ideas and Alethia fighting him, I was completely outraged. I couldn't believe I had gone all this way only to find out that we were hopeless and that I had been wrong about saving Lynch.

Inside the black clouds, I heard Kyra and Acacia scream and then Alec yell. Once it was gone, my friends were no longer behind me. I looked around me. One Laistrygonian Giant had its massive hand around Alec's neck. Two more had Kyra and Acacia. Two dracaenae each had Logan and Lillian with their javelins. I looked back at Lynch.

"Lynch. What are you…what did you do?" I spat.

"Oh, nothing really except use some magic from Hecate."

"Hecate! That wretched goddess. Lynch! Why are you doing this? Why would you do such a thing? You keep this up and the gods will curse you."

"Pfft. The gods can't do anything to me. Hades will protect me. Unlike you, Hades will curse you. Join us or die like the others."

"You know what, this matter just got personal, so say goodbye because I'm about to kill you," I growled, swelling with anger

"You can't kill me much less beat me in a fight. Hades is here," he answered.

"We talked about this like two minutes ago. We made our deal. We know who is going to win. So shut up and fight me, traitor because I'm going to win this."

"Want to try me?" he sneered. That's when I let my anger loose.

I took out my daggers as fast as lighting and threw all four of them at him with deadly accuracy. Hades held up his hand and a wall of black deflected three of the blades but the last one passed through surprisingly. Lynch raised his shield just in time as it was heading for his chest. He looked at me with a bit of fear. I looked back at Kyra and Acacia and everyone else. They were all scared looking. I vowed to myself that I would get them out of here safely even if I had to die for them.

"Join our side Christina and all your friends will be spared. Don't join and make one false move, all your friends and you will be killed automatically with my command," Lynch said again. I snorted.

"I'd like to see you try. All the monsters would be dead before you knew it."

"Fine then, you're asking to be killed."

"Yeah, well, I'm willing to die for my friends if it means getting them out safely," I retorted, speaking my vow.

"Really? Are you now? Your brother and sister and your friends would die before you could save them," Lynch replied. I got Trident ready. Lynch shook his head and readied his sword which was a foot longer than mine.

Out of my peripheral view, I saw Lillian drawing her bronze dagger without anyone else noticing. I looked at her and we locked eyes. An understanding passed between us. I turned my eyes back on Lynch and automatically attacked, surprising him. He struck back, sticking his sword under my arm. The monsters had taken Logan's backpack off. The backpack was unzipped and lying out in front of it was Logan's shield. I slashed at Lynch but he deflected it. He tried to slam his shield into me, probably trying to knock me down, but I dove out of the way. I reached for Logan's shield, grabbing just as Lynch came at me. I raised my shield and it spiraled to full form. Lynch sliced down and I deflected it with my shield. I tripped him and he fell. I jumped up, doing the bridge like you see on *TV. Lynch got up. He slashed and I deflected.

"Lillian, go!" I yelled. Lynch got confused and watched as Lillian stabbed both dracaenaes as fast as thought before they could realize what was going on. She stabbed both of Logan's dracaenae. The Laistrygonian Giants were about to strangle Alec, Acacia and Kyra but I knocked Lynch down hard again and brought out my gold bow with the arrows that had gold tips. I shot them at each one and the giants disintegrated. Lillian then ran over and cut Alethia's bonds. Everyone went to work fighting dracaenae, hellhounds and other monsters. I fought Lynch and enemy half-bloods.

"Get her!" Lynch screamed. I kicked one in the chest, hit another in the face and when I tried to kick another again, he caught my foot. At the same time, another one attacked me. I slammed him in the face with my shield and twisted so that I came up in the air quick with the half-blood still holding my foot and used my other and kicked him in the face. He screamed in agony. He let go and I landed on my feet. Lynch attacked with a head swipe and I ducked, cutting his leg. He used his shield and knocked me down hard. Two enemy half-bloods tried to stab me and I kicked both away. Another, I disarmed but he wasn't done with me. His arms came around and locked his arms around mine so I couldn't move them.

"Oh no. This is not going to happen to me," I growled. However, before I could do anything, he made his big mistake which was leaning back. Just as two came at me to kill me, I leaned back with him and kicked them in the face and then elbowed the enemy half-blood who had me in the lock still. Lynch held back and watched in amusement for some reason. I fought with one of the half-bloods who seemed pretty good. I kept trying to hit his stomach with the flat of my blade but he kept deflecting. Finally, I got so mad, that when he tried to stab me, I sidestepped and hit him over the head with my shield but not too hard. Two more came and I was ready.

"You all really are idiots," I said. "I would've figured after seeing me fight, you would all know better."

"Yeah. But we're not weak. We will keep coming at you," said the one on the right. The two attacked me. The first one tried to distract me while the other tried to injure me. I stabbed Idiot 1 in the arm slashed Idiot 2 without looking. I spun around and lunged at Lynch, feeling angry. My mind went blank with anger and the next thing I knew, I had disarmed Lynch completely and had the point of Trident under his chin. Everybody stopped fighting and turned to watch in astonishment.

"Well?" he asked. I trembled with fury. "Do it then. If you're so powerful and strong, do it."

"You…I can't believe you're saying this," I said.

"You can't do it, can you?" he sneered. "You know you can't because you know that something will happen. You can't because you give in to things like this when it comes to close friendships in a situation of life or death. You always try to do what's best but end up messing up." I got so mad, I dug the tip of my blade a bit deeper under his chin, growling. Alethia was looking at me with sad eyes. I realized that she was remembering an old memory. I was about to lower my sword but I bore in mind that Lynch was betraying us. I looked back and dug my sword deeper under his chin.

"You know I'll do it Lynch! You know I will!" Terror and disbelief filled his eyes. He turned to look at Hades.

"Try to kill him. I will protect him," Hades said. I whirled on Hades and was about to attack him but he flicked his hand and I went flying, slamming into the ground next to Alec. Alethia screamed.

"No!" Logan yelled. He ran to Hades but Hades hurled black fire at him. Logan deflected it off his sword. I felt a bit dazed but I leaped to my feet.

"Lillian!" I screamed. I locked eyes with her and she nodded. I ran forward and she got in my way. She bent down and I put my hands on her shoulder and as she stood up I pushed off, flipping behind Lillian and landing on my feet next to Logan. I attacked Hades which was probably stupid considering he could send me flying by just flicking his hand. I slashed and stabbed while I dodged and rolled away from his black balls of fire that launched at us. Lynch tried to get behind Logan, but I swiveled around and defended Logan.

"Oh no you don't! Not my brother!" I growled. I deflected his blade as he tried to hit me. I led him away from Logan. A few minutes later, I heard a yell.

"AHHHH!" I dared to turn my eyes away from Lynch to see who had yelled. It was Logan. Hades had sent a big black ball of fire at him that had hit his shield and sent him flying back.

"LOGAN! I screamed. I was about to run to him but Lillian ran to his aid and started battling Hades.

"Go Christina! I'll hold him!" Lillian answered. I turned my gaze back on Lynch but he lunged at me and we both went tumbling. I landed with one knee on Lynch's chest and my hand on his throat. He pushed me away and I fell off of him. We both jumped up and attacked one another.

"Yaaaah!" I yelled. But the son of Apollo yelled and hellhounds leaped from the bushes, surrounding me in seconds. Seven hellhounds. I looked around me for ideas. None.

"Attack!" Lynch yelled. Just as a few hellhounds leaped, I turned into white tiger. The first hellhound I ducked. The second started battling me. I managed to skid around it and get a hold of its tail. Biting down real hard, the hellhound yowled. Note to self: it's a good thing hellhounds are just like regular cats and dogs. I know their weak spots. Anyways I battle two more and killed them quickly. I turned into a human from time to time, killing hellhounds with arrows and daggers. But after I killed four of the hellhounds, Lynch summoned more and more. I fought so many, I couldn't keep count. I jumped on the back of one and clawed its back with my hind claws. It disintegrated and I grabbed another as it leaped at me. I brought it slamming to the ground. I bounded over the hellhound and knocked one with a hard blow to the face before killing another. Alec tried to come over and help just as I changed back into a human.

"No! Don't! This is my fight! You need to focus on helping Logan and Lillian!" I shrieked.

"But I can't let you die fighting all these hellhounds!" he yelled with a worried look on his face.

"It's ok! I've got it under control!" I answered him just as a hellhound leaped. I ducked to one side, stabbing it. Some of the hellhounds turned on Alec and seemed to think he was a bigger threat than I was. Go figure. Then some of those hellhounds leaped.

"Alec!" I shrieked. I had to save him. I couldn't let him die. He reminded me of old times and all the trouble I had gone through trying to fight off monsters with Alethia, Lillian and Lynch. More hellhounds pounced and I became so angry that my whole mind went blank. I turned into the white tiger and attacked. I slashed, clawed and bit hellhounds.

"Alec!" Kyra screamed noticing him being attacked. She was about to run into battle by Acacia stopped her.

"Don't go," she told her. "Let Christina." I hurled myself at the first hellhound letting loose an earsplitting screech. I grabbed the first hellhound and clawed it. I crashed into the side of another and when the third leaped at me. I struck it across the face, letting my claws slide out. The monster disintegrated and I killed several more in my path. Soon I was nothing but a pure force of destruction.

But all of a sudden I was surrounded. I looked around for ideas. I thought I was out of ideas until something caught my eye. There! In front of me was a tree that had low branches that I could probably use. The only problem was getting to the branch…

"Attack!" Lynch shouted. The hellhounds lunged I ducked and let several sail over my head and into one another. A few more attacked and I fought, bit and scratched my way slowly to the tree. As soon as I was in jumping distance, a hellhound attacked me. Its paw shot out to scratch me but I jumped over it and grabbed hold of the branch with my forepaws. I scrambled up onto the branch just as a hellhound snapped at my tail. It missed by like a centimeter but I turned into a human and shot it down. I turned back in an animal and bounded from branch to branch until I was close to Alec.

I jumped out of the tree and onto a hellhound, startling the one next to it. I got rid of them quickly. I killed hellhound after hellhound when I heard a terrified scream from Alec. I knocked others out of the way and when one jumped at me I yowled and barreled into it. The hellhound got to its paws and turned on me, growling. It leaped and I slid to the left and raked my claws down the side of its flank. It disintegrated and I reached the last hellhound that was on top of Alec. I slammed into it and when it finally jumped I slid under it, using my claws to slice its stomach. I know it sounds painful but I had to save Alec. Another note to self: monsters are blind to seeing attacks like that.

"Christina! Its al-Alec!" Acacia cried. I turned into a human and when I saw the state of Alec, I wanted lose my will to speak. He was injured badly from the hellhounds. He had scratches across his chest and deep cuts across his arms and legs. I hauled him to his feet and Acacia rushed over.

"Stay here and help him. Don't follow me into battle. I don't need any of you getting hurt. Please," I pleaded. They shook their heads.

"We need to fight," Alec spoke.

I was about to object but Acacia and Kyra looked at me. We needed some help but I couldn't afford to have them killed. Finally I decided that they were strong enough to do so. I nodded and I turned around to see Lynch fighting Lillian. Alethia and Logan had taken on Hades again but still, we were losing the fight. I jumped into battle with Hades. Hades was still hurling fire at Logan and Alethia. I slashed at Hades and he roared in fury. He threw fire I dodged. After a few minutes of fighting, Hades threw several balls of black fire. I dodged to one side and brought out my silver bow and arrows. I shot at him with great accuracy at the same time I was diving out of the way. As the sun began to set, I began wear out and feel completely helpless and out of hope.

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	26. We Have A WONDERFUL Family Reunion

**Logan:**

After Christina had jumped into battle, I began to feel a little hope. I had been fighting helplessly against Hades. At one point in the battle, I and Christina got surrounded by enemy demigods. I pressed my back up against hers and energy began to race through my body.

"Ready?" Christina whispered.

"Yep. Don't worry, I've got you're back," I whispered back.

"Same here. Good luck Logan," she wished.

"Back at you," I answered. Then we attacked. I thought I did pretty good. I used some moves that I seen Christina use and some that I had been taught. It felt like I was fighting endless demigods. We finally defeated them and jumped back into against Hades, Lynch and monsters.

Hades was still using fire but he had a new weapon. A wicked sword. It was about four feet long and as black as night. As Alethia and I fought him, I could see Alec fighting a few monsters. He looked horrible. I didn't know where he got all those scratches but some looked pretty bad.

Hades launched a ball of fire at me and everything seemed to go in slow down as the fire came at me. Christina trying to defend me the best she could from other monsters and demigods. Lillian fighting Lynch. Kyra and Acacia fighting hellhounds. Alethia constantly slashing at Hades and Lynch if he attacked. As the fire hurtled toward me, I raised my sword and swung at the fire baseball style. It went flying diagonally, killing a few monsters.

"Hey! Filthy dead god! You just killed some of your allies! You losing your control over you're fire?" I taunted. He hurled fire so fast, I couldn't defend myself in time. I got slammed in the chest and I hit the ground hard. I heard Acacia scream. The small battles around us stopped.

"I usually don't kill demigods out of mere annoyance or jokes but I'll start with this brat of Poseidon," Hades sneered as his palm filled with black fire. I couldn't move or get up. _Well, that's it_, I thought. But just then I heard a snarl. I saw something huge jump past me, circle back and stand over my body. It was Christina in black panther form. She turned into a human.

"Over my dead body," she snarled. I stared at her in disbelief. I could tell everyone else was too. Hades sneered again and Christina growled, her lip curling in to a nasty snarl.

"Come on animal girl. Fight and die like a brave little hero. But I'll make sure you go to the Fields of Punishment along with Logan," Hades said. That's when something weird happened. Christina began to glow with blue light.

"Testing my abilities aren't you? That was a bad idea. I'm not letting you take my brother."

The other five demigods gathered around me. Christina brought her fist down onto the ground. As soon as it touched, blue light exploded around us and started swirling around until we were encased in a blue ball.

The enemy demigods opened fire with the arrows but all of them bounced off. It was a shield! I stared in amazement at Christina. However I realized something. She was already shaking, slowly paling in the face. It was taking too much of her energy. She stepped outside the ball of blue light and the enemy demigods stopped firing as she began to fight her way to Hades. As soon as she was in striking distant, she lunged forward.

They began to fight in a whirl of black and blue until I heard a scream. Christina came rolling away from the battle. She stood up shakily just as Hades appeared out of the gloom. Christina backed away slowly. Then she whipped out a silver hunting horn and blew it. Just as Hades attacked her, a silver chariot came riding into view, pulled by two lovely reindeers. The chariot landed and out jumped Artemis herself, her silver knives drawn.

Hades brought his sword down on Christina's head but she met his attack with her own sword. Hades pushed more pressure on her sword and Christina's arms began to shake. Then as hard as she could, she kicked Hades in the chest with a yell and he fell on his bottom. As she had yelled, our shield shatter like glass and Christina collapsed, passing out. I jumped up and ran towards her.

"CHRISTINA!" I screamed.

"Attack you fools!" Hades roared. But the enemy demigods were staring at Artemis in awe.

"I SAID ATTACK!" he roared, the ground shaking. They came to their senses again and lunged forward. I gathered Christina in my arms and stumbled forward, fighting enemies. Artemis did a great job killing monsters. She jumped back into the chariot and we got in after her. As we flew away, I could see the enemy archers trying to fire long distance. But nothing hit us. Soon we were out of their view. I looked at Acacia as she began to check Alec's scratches.

"Where did you get all of those deep cuts?" I asked him.

"From an army of hellhounds. Christina saved me," he answered looking at Christina. I stared down at my sister.

"She saved us all thanks to her shield." As we continued to ride east, Christina began to wake up.

"Ugh. Where are we?" she questioned, sitting up and looking around.

"Whoa. Take it easy powerful one." She didn't listen but raised a questioning eyebrow, waiting for me to answer her question. "All right. I guess you're fine. Anyways we're in Artemis' chariot riding east," I said.

"Sweet. So now we know who's the enemy. And how many deadlines we had." I nodded.

"Yep. Deadline one: Save Alethia before she is killed. Deadline two: Try saving and reasoning with Lynch before he tried to kill us, which we failed at," I listed. Christina, Alethia and Lillian glared at me.

"Deadline three: Return Alethia by the summer solstice which we are doing right now," I continued, ignoring the three girls that were giving 'The Look'. The others nodded. We rode in silence.

"Almost there," Artemis informed.

"Finally. Jeez, what a quest," Christina said.

"Yeah. Nearly dying. Nearly fighting most of the time," I added. We looked ahead of us. As we flew over New York state, I could feel Acacia, Alec and Kyra's mood shifting from relief to nervousness. We landed in Central Park, freaking out a few mortal adults. One of the adults said, "Santa Clause!" but he screamed and ran with the other adults when Artemis got out of the chariot.

"I will leave you here and see you on Olympus my heroes. I must go now, the council meeting is about to start. She began to shine and we averted our eyes as she assumed her true form. Then she was gone; reindeer, chariot and all. Christina, Lillian and Alethia guided us until we found 5th avenue.

_Home. It feels so nice to be home_, I thought. We walked and Christina pointed out a pile of rocks and said, "That's the Door of Orpheus. It's a small entrance to the Underworld and you need music to open it. We continued to walk but we didn't hail a taxi because we thought, just for once, it would be nice to have a stroll without worrying or coming close to dying.

My sister, Lillian and the other demigods walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building, feeling anxious. It was getting late and we needed to get to Olympus before it was too late. Christina walked up to the security guy sitting behind the desk. He looked up as we filed in behind her.

"We're getting ready to close so you'd better leave," the security guy said. Christina didn't budge.

"We need to go to the six-hundredth floor," Christina answered.

"Kid, there's no six-hundredth floor so move on and leave."

I was pretty sure we were going to get arrested.

"Today's the summer solstice and we need to get to the meeting with Zeus. Do you really want to get blasted to bits by him?" Christina threatened, leaning across the desk and looking him in the eyes. He paled a bit.

"I know you. You look familiar," he said, scrunching his eyebrows.

"I would hope so. Now, are you going to let us up?" she asked.

"All right. Elevator on the right," he said, handing her a key card. "Slip the key into the slot." Christina laid a golden drachma on the desk and headed for the elevator, us following. When we got in, Christina closed the door and put the card in the slot. Above all the other numbers popped a red button which said 600. We waited and I began to sense that Christina's emotions. They were anxiety and uneasiness. I could also feel anger boiling up in her. I knew why. We were going up to where she would see her mom and dad. Finally there was a _ding_ and the doors opened but what I saw made me nearly faint. I heard Acacia, Kyra and Alec gasp in amazement.

In front of the elevator doors was a tapered stone walkway floating in midair. It wounded its way into a cloud and at the end was Mount Olympus itself. The mountain was covered in snow however on the side of the mountain was mansions and dozens upon dozens of palaces. They were all made of white-columned doorways. Terraces and bronze braziers with hundreds of fires were covered completely in gold. Everywhere I looked, there were roads that wounded their way around all the way up the mountain until they reached a huge palace. Before the palace was gardens that had olive trees, flowers and all kinds of neat stuff. There were also opened markets and little shops along the huge, paved roads. On one side of the mountain was a stone amphitheater while on the other side happened to be a coliseum. Everything was new, vibrant and clean.

_I don't get it. How could mortals not see a hanging palace six thousand feet in the air above the Empire State Building?_ I considered.

We walked along the roads and finally, we reach the gleaming white palace. There were steps that led up to the entire courtyard but past that was a huge throne room. All of us walked in to see twelve chairs arranged in a U just like the cabins at camp. Each seat was occupied by a fifteen-foot tall god or goddess. Zeus sat in the middle of the U and on his immediate right was Poseidon. Right next to Poseidon sat a man with a misshapen head and wild beard that flickered with occasional small fires. One of his legs was in a steel brace.

"God of Forges. Lord Hephaestus," Christina whispered, as if she could tell I was looking at him. Next to Hephaestus sat Dionysus, our Camp Half-Blood director.

After him was a huge guy that made pro wrestlers look wimpy. He had the most brutal, cruelest face I had ever seen. The guy's cheeks were scarred and he was wearing red shades. I exactly knew who it was. It was Ares. Just looking at him made me angry. I could feel bitterness and resentment building up inside of me. So I decided to look at the guy who was sitting next to him.

The guy was sitting in a golden throne and was wearing headphones, listening to his IPod. I didn't know who he was but he looked pretty cool. I recognized Hermes right on the spot, sitting at the end of the row of male gods.

On the left of Zeus, sat a beautiful woman with a dress that flickered like a bunch on peacock feathers. She had silver hair that had been braided down her shoulder. I knew it was Zeus wife and sister: Lady Hera. Next to Hera was a women that had green robes and brown hair that looked like wheat. She was sitting on a throne that seemed to be woven out of apple branches. I remembered stories talking about a woman who sat on a throne like that. It was Demeter who was the Goddess of Harvest. After Demeter sat a gorgeous woman in a white dress and had gray eyes that sparked with energy and seemed to thinking a million miles per hour. It was Lady Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy. Last but not least, on her right sat a stunning woman with perfect makeup and everything. I'd met her before; Lady Aphrodite.

As we reached the middle of the throne room, I glanced nervously at Poseidon who was studying me intently. I looked away but I could tell that he and Athena watching Christina nervously. She tensed. I could tell she was trying hard not get too angry with her parents. Christina and Lillian walked up to Zeus and bowed. We followed her example.

"I see you have gone through with your quest and have succeeded in saving my daughter," Zeus said, breaking the silence. "You have done well."

"You have done excellent my lieutenant. You have used your hunting skills and wits to defeat the enemy. For that, I shall award you. But separately and with the other Hunters," Artemis said to Christina who bowed.

"Thank you my lady," Christina answered. She turned to the other Olympians.

"We had help from three new demigods and it would've been very difficult if we didn't have them fighting next to us. Also, Hades doesn't seem to be cooperating anymore with the rest of you."

"Hasn't he always been that way?" Zeus grumbled. Christina didn't answer.

"My daughter, I sense that you have something more important to tell us about Hades," Poseidon said.

"If he hasn't cooperated, then what is more important about him? If he doesn't cooperate with us, then since when has he been?" Zeus cut in. Poseidon looked at his brother pointedly.

"I would like to hear my daughter out and I'm sure Athena would be agreeing with me, despite recent events. I'm also sure that the council would too," Poseidon answered calmly. Christina stiffened.

"Then so be it. What is so important about Hades?" Zeus agreed kind of irritated. Christina took a deep breath.

"What I meant is that Hades has stopped cooperating is, he has chosen to turn against the rest of you Olympians. He has sided with several people who have betrayed Camp Half-Blood. I don't know if they're working for someone but I do know this. Hades said he'll overthrow most of you Olympians, starting with you, Lord Zeus. He then said that if he got Alethia to join his side, she would be enough to overthrow you. If Logan, I and Lillian joined his cause, Logan would be stronger and could get rid of Poseidon. Lillian could do the same for Athena and I would be able to do both and would be more powerful," Christina explained. The gods shifted uncomfortably.

"And who are the several demigods that he has sided with?" Hermes asked. Christina glanced at Ares.

"I will name the two main ones. One of them happens to be the son of Ares. His name is Dominick Martin and he's the assistant to the other demigod who happens to be the one leading all of this. The other one he…," her voice trailed off.

"Christina this is important. Who is the other demigod?" Athena said. Christina turned to the guy who used to be listening to music but now was carefully listening.

"The other demigod is Lynch Fuller, son of Apollo," she announced. There was silence.

"My son?" Apollo asked. "Lynch has done this and he's the leader?"

She nodded.

"Now wait a sec. Why would my aggressive son join the scumbag Lynch?"

"Are you calling Lynch a scumbag you-," Apollo started.

"Whoa! Guys, this is serious. No your son isn't a scumbag but he has decided to betray Camp Half-Blood," I interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah. But why would my aggressive son join?" Ares answered.

"Gee, I don't know. You just said so yourself," Christian answered sarcastically.

"You'd better watch your tongue little girl. Just because your dad and mom are my uncle and sister, doesn't mean you can talk to me like that. Talk to me like that again and I shall turn you into a rodent," Ares growled. Christina snorted.

"Like you could have the power to do that. I could turn back."

"I would make it permanent."

"Yeah and get told off by all the other gods. Have fun with that," she retorted. Ares rose from his seat.

"Ares sit down! I will not have you attacking my daughter because of one little saying! It is true that you said it yourself," Athena defended. Ares sat down automatically, obviously surprised by Athena change in mood.

"I didn't need your help in this, _mom_," Christina said.

"I was only defending you for something that his son has done," Athena answered.

"I would've done fine," Christina told her through clenched teeth. Athena's gray eyes flared. I seen the same look a Christina a million times which I thought was scary enough but seeing it on her mother was ten times scarier. It was like an angry cat getting ready to attack the prey without giving any mercy.

"Anyways," Christina continued, "Lynch Fuller intended to follow up with the plan until we stopped him. He will find another way with Hades no doubt."

"I see. And as you said earlier, he was trying to recruit you guys because you would become more powerful to overthrow your parents. Aren't you already powerful enough?" Dionysus pointed out, looking at Christina. "I mean, you're a child of the gods."

"Yes. But he said that I would be so powerful, that I wouldn't need Camp Half-Blood's training," Christina said.

"You are powerful enough to not need Camp Half-Blood training," Poseidon said. She turned on him, anger in her eyes.

"Well that's not my fault is it? I was born because of yours and Athena's _mistake_. How many times am I going to have to say this? I wasn't meant to be born," she growled.

"Now wait just a moment Christina, you said because of Athena and Poseidon's mistake. What do you exactly mean?" I asked nervously.

"I'm not explaining this to you right now, Logan. Later," she answered, her tone a little different.

"You were meant to born," Poseidon said.

"Then prove it! Both of you!" Christina yelled, glaring at her mother. They were silent for a second.

"My daughter, you were meant to be born. However, we can't tell you why. Your time hasn't come to tell your destiny. Your destiny is-," Athena stopped herself abruptly. "All I'm saying is that you were meant to be born because of your destiny. Your fate lies in the hands of the Fates. I am sure that your father would agree."

"Well no duh. That's why they're called the Fates. Don't tell me my destiny is different from any hero's destiny because if so, then what's the point of it? Most heroes die because of their fate. A hero's fate is never ends good. That's exactly what you told me Poseidon," Christina growled, facing him.

"She's got a point you know," I put in. A few gods looked at me.

"A hero's fate may never end well but you're a child of two powerful gods. You're a Hunter of Artemis, immortal unless you fall in battle. You're a hero but a different kind of hero," he answered. I could tell he was getting mad. "Your brother would tell you the same I am sure."

"Don't drag Logan into this! The last thing I need is for him to be in this kind of situation. Lillian was already a part of this and you dragged her in farther but I'm not letting you put this on Logan. He's my brother and I respect what he has," she shouted.

"Lillian wasn't already apart of this situation. She was pulled into it," Poseidon said with steely calm voice.

"No she wasn't and you know that! Both of you do! You left us undefended when we were on the run. The night the monster attacked and we ran away, the only god who helped us was Zeus. While we were on the run, not once did you send any major help. When I _pleaded_ to the gods for help, not one of you guys helped. Only the other gods helped. When we were attacked by the Furies, who helped? Hera did. What kind of parent is that?"

"We helped you in ways that you don't know about. We spoke to you in your minds," Poseidon answered.

"Yeah, a couple of times. But not when we needed help or when we were fighting. It was only until we met Lynch and Alethia is when you and Athena wanted to help. By then, I had wanted to block you completely. When I reached Camp Half-Blood and was claimed by both of you, not only did I understand what was happening but Chiron began to hide things from me and didn't tell me until I was older. The Great Prophecy…," Christina stopped and shuddered. "Anyhow, Chiron asked me what I knew about my past and I told him I didn't know anything because of you and Athena! I have never known anything about my past. I don't even know where I was born because you both took my memories!"

Sadness and pain filled both her parent's eyes.

"We had to take your memories for a reason," Athena explained.

"Why did you have to? Why? See this is another example that you don't care for me. You can't even tell me why you took my memories or much less give them back!" Christina yelled.

"Christina we do care! How many times am I going to have to say this? We can't tell you because of your destiny. If we did, it would completely affect what you would do in the future," he mom answered in a stern tone.

"Fine then. You could've said that. But if you care so much, how come you never showed up all those years? How come you didn't send any major help and how come you didn't tell Chiron exactly who I am?" Christina shouted raising her voice.

"Christina Blake!" her mother shouted. She stared at her mom in horror.

"You know full well that I don't use the surname at _all_. It's not even my surname. You know full well that I hate my stepparents," Christina hissed. Athena sat back and I had a feeling that Athena knew she had gotten under Christina's skin.

"Your father and I care very much for you but in ways that you're too blind to see! If you were a lot smarter, then you would know and stop blaming us for everything. Maybe most of this is your doing and your father agrees with me!" Athena continued, yelling.

Christina opened her mouth to object but closed it with disbelief in her eyes. The other gods seemed to realize what Athena had said and they sat back in their thrones. Aphrodite had her mouth covered. Athena's startling gray eyes were blazing with anger. I could tell that she wasn't going to take that back.

"Maybe this actually is your fault if you think about it!" I defended. "You've been pinging on Christina about this but have you ever stopped and thought about how this is maybe actually your fault?"

"This is not your fight Logan Moore! Do not defend her because she got on our case about this long before you even knew her! She knows what she's doing if she can prove us wrong she may. But I have lived for three millennia and I'm the goddess of wisdom. I know that I am right along with your father!" Athena growled, turning on me. I knew better than to answer because I was afraid she was going to blast me to a million pieces.

"Is that what you guys think of me then? That I'm blind to anything that you've done which is _nothing_? That I'm not smart enough to know that maybe this is actually all of your doing? That I'm not smart enough but don't need Camp Half-Blood training. Yeah. Right. I already know that a little bit of this is my doing from trying to shut you out. But if you think hard, what major thing have you done for me that's made a huge difference?" Christina answered instead. No one answered but Athena was so angry that I thought she was going to zap Christina. I could tell my dad was also angry with her.

"You have nothing to say do you?" Christina said. "Then fine. If that's what you really think about me, don't even try to make a connection with me." She turned to Zeus.

"My lord," she continued. "I hope you will forgive me for this late excuse. Your daughter has been returned just as you requested. May we return to our camp?" Zeus looked at the other gods and they nodded as if they didn't want something bad to happen to us.

"You may go," Zeus said. "But don't expect Lynch to change his tactics and lay off any of you." Christina bowed and we followed her example. We were halfway out of the door when Poseidon spoke.

"Christina, don't you expect any help from me or your mother. You've chosen what you wanted to say and do. That is what you expect of yourself and not what you want of us."

She curled her lip.

"I don't even want your help. I've been doing fine by myself all these years. So don't you expect me to apologize because I have nothing to apologize for. If you knew what I've been through and if you even cared, then you would've done something all these years to at least make a difference," and with that, she stormed out of the throne room with the others on her heel. I took a deep breath and looked at the other gods. I was about to follow but Poseidon stopped me.

"Logan. I'm sorry that you even had to hear this. I'm not angry with you. You have done well my son." He smiled and I smiled back. Then I left, feeling less nervous and uneasy.

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**A/N: Please review and subscribe if you have been reading this book so far. Thanks!**


	27. A Seemingly Tense War Meeting

**Logan:**

As we strolled down 5th avenue again, I tried talking to Christina about other things but after a while I shut up because I could tell her anger hadn't subsided. We walked down near Central Park Zoo, and stopped on East Dr., one of the roads that ran through Central Park. Christina dug out a drachma and made sure no one was nearby.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"This is the fastest way to camp but it's dangerous," Christina answered.

"What?"

"Oh just listen and watch," she told me.

"Hold on, we've got company," Kyra cut in. We looked and saw a bunch of kids the same age as Lillian, Christina and I coming up to us. They were trying to look all cool and gangster. The leader came up to us and sneered, "What are you doing out at this time freaks?"

"I was going to ask you the same. Now get lost," Christina growled. The kids laughed.

"Yeah right. We're not afraid of some homeless kids," one said.

"Pfft. We're not homeless. But call us that one more time and we'll make sure you don't," I answered.

"Yeah. Whatever homeless kid. We aren't afraid of girls especially her," the leader said, jabbing his thumb at Christina.

"You'd be surprised," I defended. I was trying to somewhat get their attention completely of Christina who was already in a bad mood. If she punched one of them, I was afraid we would get in a street fight and get arrested. They laughed at Christina who was just staring.

"What are you going to do little girl," they taunted as a few of them and the leader danced around her in a circle. She stood there and waited till the right moment. The leader passed in front of her, making a real nasty face and she punched him square in the face, knocking him down flat. The other kids stopped dancing around and backed away.

"What the-," the leader said some wonderful language. "You want to pick a fight with me idiot?" he asked. She seemed calm somehow. There was a glint in her eyes, one that I had seen only when she fought physically. He tried to punch her but she grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm. He cried for his mama and told her to let go.

She did and he looked at her in fear. Then he growled to his friends, "Well, don't just stand there. Stop them!" That's when a fight broke out. We all backed into a circle facing them. A few attacked Christina but when one swung she hit him in the face with her foot. She grabbed the other by the arm and twisted him around so that his own arm was against his neck. She growled something in his ear and yanked his arm away from his neck so that he went spinning away. Another grabbed her from behind, putting Christina's arms behind her back and grabbing her neck. She struggled for a few minutes as the kid tried to choke her but she kicked him so hard in the soft spot, he started to cry.

Alethia grabbed one by the head and flipped him onto his back. He got up and ran while one tried to trip her. But she finished him.

One moved in on me and I freaked out a bit. I didn't know any fighting skills or any moves. But a small voice in my brain said, _"Their arms are just like swords. Your own arms are like shields or swords also."_ I concentrated on that as one tried punching my stomach. I sidestepped and used a blow of my own. The leader moved in on Christina with a little dagger. I cursed a bit. He tried stabbing Christina but she took out her bronze dagger and stopped his blade. He yelped in surprise, probably because, 1: he didn't think she had a dagger and two, he hadn't seen someone like her have a quick reaction.

He tried stabbing again but she held her dagger like a sword and what she did next made me almost scream myself for my mom. She swung her dagger straight through his stomach. The blade passed right through him without even harming him. The leader screamed and so did the other kids, running away. Soon everything was peaceful. I stared in horror at Christina.

"What in the name of the gods did you just do?" I asked stunned. "How come it didn't harm him?"

"Because, the blade is Celestial Bronze which is mined on Olympus itself. Very rare. Celestial Bronze is only meant to harm demigods and monsters. Not mortals because they aren't as important. But us demigods can be harmed by mortal weapons," Christina explained. "Anyways, we need to get to camp. Now be quiet so I can focus." We didn't say anything as Christina held out her hand.

"Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês. Stop, Chariot of Damnation!" she chanted. She threw her drachma into the road and it sank through the asphalt, replaced with a car woven out of smoke. The window rolled down and an old woman with grayish hair popped her head out.

"Ride? Passage?" she said quickly.

"Seven to Camp Half-Blood," Christina answered, getting in the car. We crammed in after her. Everything was gray and looked like smoke but the seat was pretty solid. I looked ahead at the drivers and nearly yelped. There were three ladies all in the front with the same kind of hair, lanky hands and a black sackcloth dress. They hit the accelerated and Alec ducked in order to avoid Kyra swinging arm as she held onto the seat.

"Does this thing have seatbelts?!" I asked Christina desperately. As if an answer had magically came, a voice came over the speaker and said, "Hi! I'm Guymeade. And when I'm buying wine for Zeus, I always buckle up for any accidents along the road! Thank you and have a lovely day!"

"Whoa, what?!" I said. Christina pointed down and I saw only a black chain.

"Yeah, thanks. Not that anxious to use it," I gulped. As we sped down different roads, I could tell Alec was getting motion sickness.

"Oh man. Not feeling well at all." We all stared at him as he turned green. Christina cursed.

"Hold on please Alec," she said grimly. We turned a sharp corner and the lady on the right driving screeched, "Give up the eye Pempherdo!"

"Wasp," Christina told us, giving us the names in English.

"No! I'm driving Deino!" Wasp yelled.

"Anger," Christina continued.

"Deino give up the tooth, you had it last time!" yelled the one in the middle.

"You've had the tooth three times in a row Persis!" yelled Anger. Christina frowned as we swerved onto another road. She grabbed the seat in front of her, gripping it tightly.

"Persis? Never heard that one before." She looked at Lillian.

"Persis is the other form of her name. The one we're use to is Perso," she explained.

"Right. Perso or Persis is Tempest."

"Give me the tooth Deino! Now!"

"No!" Anger shouted. They continued to fight while we sped down Williamsburg Bridge. We kept accelerating until I felt like we were bumping along the road. Tempest began to ask for the eye and after a while she took it out of Wasp socket and stuck it in hers, blinking like crazy. We kept going faster and faster as everything became a complete blur. Up ahead I could see a valley coming into view and Wasp yelled for the eye and Anger asked for the tooth. Then Anger knocked the eye out of Tempest's socket and Wasp grabbed it, sticking it back in her eye. She slammed on the brakes and all of our heads slammed into the seats.

"Oww," Acacia groaned. Peeling our heads off the back of the seats we got out quickly. They sped away as we walked up the hill, crossing the borders. We walked into camp and found everything empty but we heard noises coming from the Amphitheater.

"Camp fire," Lillian said. The three new demigods were staring at everything, stunned but as we neared the Amphitheater, the demigods became nervous. As soon as we walked in, all the demigods turned their head and stared at us in amazement.

"We're back," Christina announced. They stared at us, and then at the new demigods. They saw Alethia but I could tell their eyes couldn't believe it. Then all of the demigods stared at Christina scars on her face. No doubt that they hadn't seen her look like that before. Then they broke out cheering. Chiron pounded his hoof and the cheering died down.

"Yes, I must say I can't be happier to see these demigods come back with three new ones, all alive." The cheering started up but he pounded his hoof. Everyone quieted down.

"However, I must say, I would like to hear your story," Chiron continued. "And what you learned."

So Christina told them the story and the rest of us filled her in. She choked up at the part when Liam died but no one looked sad. They seemed a little weirded out for some reason. When she told them the part about the Keres, everyone freaked out. I filled them in about the part where Christina got scratched but was healed by Hermes. That's when Christina reached the part about the battle against Dominick. She let me take her place and I told them what happened. Christina after that told them the part about the battle against Lynch and everything else. When she told them about Lynch and Dominick, pandemonium broke out but Chiron got everyone to be quiet.

"So, we know that they are planning to attack us soon."

"Chiron, I didn't say that-," Christina started.

"I know but there's no doubt that they could attack any sooner. All it takes is for one to come back and summon monsters. But I must ask you, who are the other demigods that we know." Christina paled in the face.

"I-I couldn't see their faces under the helmets but some of them…," Christina shuddered. "I knew way too well and had trained them. I can't imagine what would happen if they used my own moves against them if they were to attack." Chiron took this into consideration.

"Come on Christina! You're the best fighter here! You would have plenty of other moves," yelled a kid from the crowd.

"I know Averil, but the thing is, I train a certain way and all of you know that," heads nodded, "What I'm saying they could those moves on me and I would take the fault of it. However if a battle does come, let's hope we have time to prepare."

"Then you could teach us new and better moves but yet we could still use the old moves," Averil answered. There was a murmur of agreement. She considered this. I could tell she was trying hard not to scare them.

"Maybe. But pray to the gods if a battle comes, it won't happen to soon," she answered. Averil nodded.

"Anyways, now we know who are traitors are," I said. "And what we need to be careful about now. It won't take long for Dominick or Lynch to recruit more of us."

"Logan has a point. Tomorrow we'll call a war meeting," Alethia said. Everybody nodded.

"And we have one more surprise. You said Liam died. But seriously...," Alethia started to say.

"I didn't die Christina," said a male's voice. Christina eyes god as big as drachmas. Liam was standing at the edge of the amphitheater.

"Oh my gods. How...what the...Liam how are you...?" Christina was tongue-tied. She was in so much shock and surprise. Liam smiled and came forward and Christina hugged him tightly.

"I thought you died! How...?" she started.

"The vial. Aphrodite managed to overrule the Fates' plan. She took me back to camp. That was the golden light. And so when I got back, everyone knew I was suppose to live. But I had to take to vial to stop the temptation of Iris-messaging you guys to see if you were ok and everything," Liam explained.

Christina blinked.

"Aphrodite did that? Well then that means she had something else on her mind to keep you alive. The goddess of beauty and love keeping a demigod that isn't her child alive? Then she's up to something."

The Aphrodite kids started yelling but Alethia got them to shut up.

Liam shrugged, smiling and Chiron cleared his throat.

"Well, the important thing is that they succeeded and Alethia is back. Now that the matter is closed, let's sing one last camp song before it's off to bed!" Chiron announced. The Apollo cabin began the song but I could tell they were distracted by the fact that their head counselor had betrayed them. After the last song, everyone clapped half-heartily and drifted off towards their cabins. As my sister, Lillian, Alethia, the three demigods and I walked out of the amphitheater with Chiron, we introduced the new demigods. Alec wasn't surprised about Chiron being a centaur.

"We'll stick them in the Hermes cabin until they are claimed. Tomorrow, I have you guys give them a tour," Chiron said. "Now off to bed after you show them their cabin." We took the demigods and as we walked, I thought piecing information together. We showed them the Hermes cabin and Alethia went straight to bed. I couldn't blame her, she had been through enough. We stood in the middle of the ring of cabins.

"Gods, that was a crazy quest. Just think, after a good night's sleep, we'll be able to think clearly tomorrow and won't have to worry about fighting monsters," Lillian said.

"I know, but I'm still struggling with the fact that Lynch has chosen his path to become evil," Christina murmured. Lillian's eyes turned sad.

"Same here. We need to get some sleep because we all look like death from traveling." I looked down at my shirt and saw she was correct. My shirt was almost in shreds and I was dirty, grimy and cut up. Christina didn't look any better with her facial scars. Christina hugged Lillian goodnight. Then Lillian said goodnight to me and walked off towards her cabin.

"Let's go Christina. We need some sleep. Especially you Christina from creating that shield," I told her. She smiled.

"You need some also. That was amazing fighting today against Dominick."

"Thanks to your help."

"Nah. Most of it you did yourself," she answered. I nodded and we headed for the Poseidon cabin. We didn't bother changing considering how tired and gross we were. I sat on the couch drinking water, thinking about the fight between Christina and her parents. Christina climbed into bed and crashed automatically. I listened to her breathing. After that I got in bed and went to sleep.

"All right Alethia, Lillian and Logan, I race you around the borders of camp on our pegasi's," Christina challenged. It was ten in the morning, a day after our quest and we were all refreshed and clean. Christina's scars across her face had faded after we all had done the Swim and Beach activity. Since she was the daughter of Poseidon, being in water long enough healed her scars. I had asked her if it takes longer for them to heal since they were scars. She said kind of. She said that if they were fresh, they would heal quicker. If they were older, it would take a little longer.

"Sure. But you're so going to lose," Alethia said.

"Got that right," I put in.

"Ha-ha. It would be a first though to feel the wind in our faces without freaking out over monsters," Christina said.

"Yeah," Lillian sighed. "I call Pothos!" she added quickly.

"Ha, then I get Pegasus 2!" Alethia answered.

"Leave Blackstorm to me!" Christina said.

"Saigas," I said. We mounted our pegasus' and Christina counted.

"1...2...3...GO!" We shot into the air and raced. Christina spread her arms out on either side, letting the wind rush through her hair. She touched the feathers on the wings of Blackstorm softly, smiling a bit. As we flew I sense her worries draining away and freedom replacing it. Then she concentrated back on flying. She whispered something in Blackstorm's ear and he shot forward, Christina laughing. Lillian went after her and Alethia and I followed. We all tied the race, feeling better than we had long before.

"Great race," I complimented the others. "Despite the fact I was surrounded by girls completely." They laughed and then Christina eyes widened behind me. I turned around and saw Griffin.

"Griffin! Where were you yesterday when we arrived?!" I questioned.

"I was busy doing looking for more demigods. But I caught up on everything thanks to Casper and his twin Jasper. Is it true about…you know?" he gulped, looking at Christina. She took a breath and nodded.

"I thought it was going to be better this time but obviously not. Anyways, I came to congratulate you guys because I've got to go see Mr. D.," he said.

"All right. See ya Griffin!" I answered.

"See ya!" I turned to Christina.

"Now what are we going to do?" I asked. But my question was answered when Selena Blanton came running up to us.

"You guys, the war meeting is starting right now. I was sent to come and get you," she panted. We looked at one another and ran towards the Big House. We walked into the recreation room and saw everyone sitting around the ping pong table. We took our seats and Chiron started the meeting.

"As you all know, Logan and Christina have successfully returned with Alethia and to add to that, with new demigods," Chiron said. "However, we would like to hear your story from the top again." So we told them. Christina was slowly getting angry every time she mentioned Lynch's name. When we finished, there was shocked silence because we had told them some things that we hadn't told the camp the night before.

"But that's incredulous! Why would he turn against the Olympians?!" Sophia said, breaking the awkwardness.

"We already explained that," I growled. "Don't you ever listen?" Sophia glared at me.

"Watch it. Just because you went on a quest doesn't mean you can challenge me," she answered.

"Sophia, we already explained it. Three millennia of hatred. Darkness. All alone. The stupidest job a god could have. That's why he wants something better. Think Sophia. Hungry for power like most minor gods. The only difference is this time it's an ally that's turned," Christina replied. I sensed that in her mind, she was piecing more clues together, some that she hadn't told us about.

"Basically, as far as we know, Dominick and Lynch and a bunch of demigods have betrayed this camp. But a few demigods were ones who went to camp. The others demigods were ones that we've never seen at camp. So they have hunted other ones down and recruited them," Landon summarized.

"Pretty much. Although there is one thing that I won't say until I'm sure," Christina said. Everyone stared at her. She locked eyes with Chiron and they had a silent exchange.

"So…what are we going to do about this?" Faber asked. I looked at Christina and she nodded. We had talked the night before about what we were going to do. And if that something was going to happen, we were going to have to quickly.

"If Hades recruits too many demigods and minor gods, the Olympians will have lost half their numbers. After that, he'll try an assault against us since we are the bonds that tie the gods to the mortal world. If he manages to get most of us on his side, the rest of us that doesn't join will have to go into hiding or will be killed. Once he's finished with us, he'll quickly move to Olympus because we demigods won't be in his way at all. If Hades accomplishes getting the main seat of power, then the world will drop to his power and all lives will be at stake; demigod or mortal. All the gods will be at each other's throats. It will unbalance the council. Hades is chaos and destruction. If a war is brought to us, then we have to maintain our positions of keeping the camp safe," I explained.

"Yes, but how can they attack if our borders are safe?" Faber asked.

"All Hades has to do is get in camp since gods are allowed to, summon hellhounds and monsters and attack. Or they could have Lynch and Dominick who are still demigods get in secretly and summon. Last but not least, they could send a brainwashed demigod we don't know about and have him do some major and serious stuff that could make the borders fail. Or possibly all three," Christina answered almost immediately because she was waiting for that question to come up. Everyone thought upon that happy note.

"Then what will we do about that? Scrounge every new demigod for information?" asked Kore Lynn from the Demeter cabin.

"I don't know what we're going to do. But all I know is that we have to be careful with every new demigod until we're sure that they are or are not the enemy," Lillian replied. Heads nodded.

"Now how are we going to prepare for a battle that we don't know about?" Selena questioned. Christina sat back in her chair and thought quickly. Her face slowly paled as she came up with one of many answers she found out with the clues she hadn't mentioned.

"No Selena, we'll kno-know, trust me," she stuttered, the color beginning to drain from her face. Landon sat forward, his hands folded on the table and his face full of concern as he studied Christina's face.

"Christina, what's wrong? What are we facing? I know you well enough that the look on your face is saying that you just figured something out." Christina shook her head

"Christina, come on. Look at me," Landon said. She did reluctantly. "What are we facing because I know you know." Christina held his gaze and after a few seconds of silence she spoke.

"If Lynch and Dominick have demigods that he's recruited, maybe some of them aren't with him. Maybe some of them are with us our camp. Our 'friends'," she said, looking away. "That means that if Lynch has some kind of signal or something, all he has to do is send it when he's ready and then those hidden demigods will cause a commotion that will send us into chaos. Then we won't be prepared if Hades and them were to attack this camp." Everyone was shocked. Then they started talking at once, looking at one another warily as if expecting some kind of signal from each other.

"Silence!" Chiron ordered. Everyone stopped and listened carefully. "How can you be sure of this Christina?" Christina eyes were blazing with anger as some answers began to connect as she thought.

"Because, Lynch would need someone to do his dirty work like he has always," she answered solemnly. A few kids covered their mouth in complete disbelief. I had a feeling that what she had said was something she wouldn't have said if this hadn't happened.

"How could you say that?" Jason Cots said, the head counselor of the Apollo cabin. "You and him were-,"

"That was the past. This is the present Jason. Get with it. He has chosen to betray me, Lillian, Alethia and the camp," Christina interrupted. Jason just stared at her, shaking his head. But as he stared at her, there was something in his eyes that didn't seem correct. There was this look that I couldn't understand.

"But that's beside the point," she continued. "If he were to attack like I said, we would have no intention about it."

"So what do you want us to do about it?" Kore asked. Christina didn't answer as she traced her finger on the ping pong table. It was like she was drawing a battle plan out.

"We'll just have to be ready for them. If next year, we can figure out enough information on when they're going to attack, then we'll give a warning as soon as possible," she answered finally.

"Is it possible to predict how long we might have?" Selena asked tentatively.

"At the most, we probably have another two years. It will take a lot of time to recruit more demigods in order to be strong and a lot of planning," Christina replied. Everybody nodded.

"Have we completed the prophecy all the way though?" Sophia asked. It was a good question because Christina had to think about it for a few moments before saying anything.

"Well...," she drawled, starting off. "Here's the prophecy if you don't remember: Four shall travel as far west as they can. To find the girl taken by hand. You will lose a needed child of archery, a friend. Only to find a god in the end. If thee shall find the girl, war shall wage. And underground will release terrible rage."

"So Lillian, Liam, Christina and I were the four and we traveled as far west. Check," I said.

"To find the girl taken by hand which was Alethia. Check," Lillian added.

"You will lose a needed child of archery, a friend. I thought that was Lynch but really it was Liam. We lost him on the quest and not him entirely with his life," Christina continued.

"If thee shall find the girl, war shall wage which you guys did find Alethia and war did happen among all of the monsters and demigods," Liam said.

"And underground will release terrible rage. That happened to be Hades because he just went all out on us in the battle," I finished. "So yeah, we did complete the prophecy."

"So is that everything that we've covered?" Jason asked. Chiron looked at Christina and she met his gaze. Something passed between them and she nodded, locking eyes with Lillian who nodded also.

"I believe so," Chiron answered. And the war council adjourned.


	28. Surprises and A Slightly Different Game

**A/N: ******** Ok guys! This is the LAST CHAPTER OF THE MISSING DEMIGOD!**

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**Logan:**

Christina went straight to the arena. When I arrived there, I saw her hacking at dummies with Trident. Judging by the way she was attacking them, she was completely ticked. I walked up to her and she heard me. As fast as lighting, Christina spun around and stuck her sword deep under my chin. I could feel the point touching my throat.

"Oh, it's just you," she said, lowering her sword. "Sorry."

"Are you ok?" I asked. "You seem really tense." I thought I had said something wrong because Christina eyes flared up. But the look on her face immediately melted into sadness.

"I don't know Logan. After I said some stuff about Lynch, I began to seriously be thinking about the past. I don't know that if I have to face him again, I'll be able to do it. Facing him that night was bad. I freaked out and I thought I was probably going to kill him," she answered, looking down. She seemed so stressed; I didn't know what to do.

"Hey, it's ok," I tried to reassure.

"Logan, I'm afraid that if I meet him in battle again, I'll fail and not be able to fight him. I seriously don't know if I can see him once more." She was fighting back tears because her voice was on the verge of cracking. I stepped forward and hugged Christina.

"Christina, I'm sure it going to be okay. If you have to meet him in battle, I'll help you in case something goes wrong. But seriously Christina, I think you'll do fine. You're the smartest, toughest and most dangerous person I've ever known," I told her. She stepped back and looked me in the eyes, a little hope in them.

"Now, do you want to challenge me or not? Because Capture the Flag is tonight and I want to make sure that if I'm your enemy, I can fight you," I challenged. She gave me a sly smile.

"You're on." Before I could react she took my sword from my scabbard.

"Whoa! Hey, that's not fair!" I complained.

"Number one rule of fighting is to never ever let your guard down." She gave my sword back and she readied Trident. She attacked me and I deflected her blow. We continued to practice until we were both drenched in sweat. In the distance, the conch horn sounded.

"Want to grab some lunch after we wash off?" I suggested.

"Sure." We washed off and walked to the Mess Hall. I loaded my plate and we made our burnt offerings. At the table, I asked Christina about my sword.

"I had a dream about my sword. I know it sounds weird but my sword was a gift from Poseidon. If so, then why did Faber specifically tell me to take that sword and why did it have a tag underneath that said, 'Set only for the child of Poseidon.'?" I asked.

"That sword was given to me as a gift from Poseidon who said it was for another main child. I wasn't sure what he meant. I kept that gift in the Poseidon Cabin but quickly put it in the armory the night before you came after getting a message from him that the time was coming. I still wasn't quite sure what he meant about the other main child. Then when Griffin informed me that you were definitely a demigod, I immediately alerted Faber who's always in the armory and told him that no one was to touch that sword. I had a suspicion that something big was going to happen. When Capture the Flag happened, the minute you were claimed, it hit me. I knew automatically that you were the main child. Faber also knew that this was the sword for you. So when Faber took you to the armory for a different sword, that's why he gave that specifically to you," Christina explained.

"Wow. So this whole entire quest, I've been using the sword that was a gift from Poseidon that you technically gave to me?" I said. She nodded.

"I also noticed that it's got a name," I added.

"Thanasimkyma or Deadly Wave. Also its known in older times as Thanasimdini which is-,"

"Deadly whirlpool," I finished, translating the term.

"Or you could just call it Charybdis if you wanted," she suggested, taking a drink of her soda. I choked on my sandwich.

"What?! You mean the Greek water monster who sits next to Scylla?"

"Yeah. I guess you could say that," she said. I was quiet as I tried to swallow down my sandwich.

"You know, I think I'm going to stick with Thanasimkyma or Thanasimdini," I finally said.

"Totally fine. Now let's go and see if we both can kick the Hermes' cabins butt in sword fighting because I challenged Landon," she smiled.

"Sure." We got up and left the table. As we walked to the arena, Jason from the Apollo cabin caught up with us.

"Whatcha guys up to?" he asked.

"Going to go and beat the Hermes cabin in swordplay," I simply answered.

"Sweet. Well tell Landon I said good luck," he said before he turned heel and ran off. Christina snorted.

"Landon's going to need way more than good luck." I cracked up. When we reached the arena, we found the Hermes cabin arriving in on the other side. Landon saw us and smiled slyly. He and his cabin geared up while Christina and I went over some battle strategies for beating them. We put our armor on and met the Hermes cabin in the middle of the arena.

"Ready Christina?" Landon asked.

"You bet."

"Are you sure you want to do this? Just you and Logan together on this and not you, Logan and half the Athena cabin?" he questioned. I locked eyes with Christina and she smiled.

"Yeah. We're definitely sure because both of us together make us almost unstoppable," I answered.

"Alrighty then. Let's start." We backed up on either side of the arena. No one moved a muscle for a minute.

"Attack!" Landon yelled. We ran towards one another. I took out the Morph Sphere and through it like a baseball. I hurtled towards the first set of warriors, taking them out. The second row came at us and we began to fight. I kept my shield up, knocking warriors down. Once in a while we would summon the Morph Sphere. Once our threat had decreased down to five warriors and Landon, Christina nodded. I would take on Landon while she took on the five warriors. Then we attacked. But our plan didn't go exactly how we wanted it to go. Two of the five warriors attacked me.

I knocked one down with my shield and did a head cut to another. The one I knocked down swung his sword to my legs but I jumped and then slammed him hard to the ground again. Landon attacked me from behind but I sidestepped and hit the last warrior behind him who was trying to get me after Landon attacked. He went down. Landon struck me hard in the chest and I went flying back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Christina sword lock place with the opponent's sword. However, at the same time, she kicked him in the chest. Landon swung downwards and I rolled towards him and tripped him. We both got up and fought.

Suddenly, I remembered a move that Christina had mentioned in my head when I was fighting Dominick. I hit my blade against Landon's hilt and pushed down with all my might. It clattered out of his hand and I stuck the sword an inch from his chest.

"Good job Logan," Christina praised, walking over. Behind her, warriors laid groaning and clutching their head, legs, arms and parts that were hurting.

"You too," I said.

"Dang! Gone for a week and a half and you can defeat me already without proper training!" Landon commented.

"Yeah. But thanks to Christina's help," I said.

"I did nothing really Logan. Most of your fighting skills didn't come from me if you think about it," she replied. I lowered my sword from Landon's chest and we helped the other demigods up. After that, we decided to scale the Climbing Wall.

We did a lot of activities over the next few hours. At dinner, there was a lot of excitement. Once the dishes had been cleared away, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor.

"Heroes! Capture the Flag is going to be a little bit different tonight!" he announced. All the demigods fell silent.

"Instead of doing the red and blue teams, we're doing cabin teams. Each cabin is its own team," Chiron looked in mine and Christina's direction. "Each cabin will have their own flag and each team must try to capture other team's flags obviously. However, the point of the game is whichever cabin can capture the most flags wins! If a cabin flag is captured, the cabin must come back to the Mess Hall and wait out the rest of the game. Once a flag is captured, place it next to your flag. No other cabin can take flags you've captured. If a cabin's flag is captured and they have other flags, those belong to you now. The rules still apply. No maiming or killing and the flag must be displayed visually. Two guards still within ten feet of the flag. I will still serve as referee and battlefield medic. Is everything clear?" All heads nodded. This was going to be an exciting game.

"One last thing. Christina and Logan!" he called. We came forward. "Since you guys are the children of Poseidon and there is only two of you, which cabin do you wish to side with?"

"We'll take the Athena cabin," I quickly answered, looking at Christina who agreed.

"All right. Athena and the Poseidon cabin are allies and the will use the Athena flag still. The Dionysus cabin will team up with the Demeter cabin along with Farren Martinez," Chiron said. "The rest of you, prepare yourselves!" He spread his hands and on the table appeared helmets, armor, swords and a bunch of other protective gear. Once everyone had their gear on, Christina talked to me.

"Remember, I'm leaving Silva and Fansalee in charge of the flag. I mean sure we could use them on the battlefield but their strongest is protecting the flag. I'm then sending a third of the Athena cabin to take right flank while another third of the cabin takes left. The last third of the cabin will go straight ahead. I'm having the right and left flank spread out and different places. The middle group will do anything they can to get other flags and fight off. Meanwhile, just you and I are going to take as many flags as we can," she clarified.

"Just you and me?" I asked.

"Yep. Lillian is leading the middle group while I have Hunter lead right flank and Xavier left flank. What we're going to do is stick with the middle group in the way back. Then when we meet other cabins, we're going to run towards the left flank group. We'll pass them by and head straight for the river to take the Ares' cabin flag because they're our biggest threat. We're heading for the river because they place the flag there since it's their favorite spot. If we get their flag, our next biggest threat will be the Apollo cabin's flag unless some other team gets it. So we're basically moving through how big each cabin is. The bigger the cabin, the larger the threat. So you got the game plan?" she asked me.

"Yep. Sure do. Wait, isn't the Aphrodite cabin larger by one kid?" I said.

"Yeah but the Aphrodite cabin are whimps. Besides it's only by one person," she answered, cracking a smile.

"All right. By why don't we just stick with the left flank?" I asked.

"Because, if we stick with the middle group, we'll be able to see the left flank. If we stuck with the left flank, we wouldn't be able to see the flag. Got a better idea?" she challenged.

"Nah. Just wondering," I answered.

"Heroes, listen up! Cabin leaders, take your cabins and to different parts of the forest. Alethia is siding with the Hermes cabin for your information! You are dismissed!" Christina led us towards North Woods. We placed our flag in the middle of the woods. We heard the Dionysus and Demeter cabin pass us by.

"We'll start with the Athena flag," one said.

"They're so stupid. Yes, why don't you just announce it to the whole forest to hear," I said sarcastically. Christina cracked up. We heard the Hephaestus cabin past us, heading for the creek. Christina split our groups up and in the sky, I saw a few arrows go up, exploding into different things; a flaming hammer, a dove, a caduceus and other symbols.

"The symbol of each god to tell Chiron each cabin is ready, right?" I asked. Hunter nodded. Christina notched an arrow and shot into the sky. It exploded into an owl. After a few minutes and a few arrows from other cabins, the conch horn sounded.

"Ready. Steady. NOW!" I yelled. The middle group raced through the woods as we heard other cabins. Christina whipped out her hunting horn and blew it, loud and clear in the night sky. We heard the left and right flank taking off. We met the Ares cabin in battle and I saw Christina keeping a look out for the left flank as she fought campers.

She saw the left flank running through the trees and knocked down the last kid, grabbing my wrist and dragging me along. We got away from the fighting but only to see that the left flank was fighting the Hephaestus cabin. Christina and I dodged campers but somehow split up. I bounded out of the fray and saw Christina coming around the other side.

"Good job," she commented as I slammed down a Hephaestus kid. We continued to run until we had reached the Ares flag, we were about to burst through some bushes but Christina saw the threat first and grabbed me just in time. We peered through the bushes, seeing two Ares kids.

"I have a plan," I said. "I'll go around until I'm one side. You stay here and jump out whenever you're ready. Fight them and I'll grab the flag." Christina considered this and nodded. I moved to the right, crouching until I was on one side. Christina stood up behind a tree, waiting. Then she jumped out.

"Hiyah!" She began fighting with the first guy and the second jumped in. Once he had, I came into view and was about to grab the flag when the second guy whirled around and attacked me.

I blocked his attack and tried to sidestep and get a blow of mine in when he stabbed forward. But these guys weren't as stupid as monsters. I tried a head-cut but the guy smashed me to the ground. The only good thing about that was the fact that I landed in the creek. The water filled me with strength and I stood up. He came to get me in the creek but I feinted to the left and then hit him on the right. He fell face-first in the water.

"Oh no. That's bad," I said half to myself. I grabbed the Ares kid who was very heavy. I hauled him onto the stones and made sure he was breathing. Yep, no problems. By that time, Christina had finished the other guy and was waiting for me patiently with the flag in her hands.

"Sorry. Had to make sure he didn't drown," I apologized.

"It's ok. Let's get moving. We need to drop the flag off at our post," she answered. "Fastest way to get there is in animal form." She changed into a wolf and I grabbed the flag and hopped on.

As she ran back to the Athena flag, she didn't have to tell what needed to be done. I raised the flag slightly so it didn't hit some branches. I slashed at Hephaestus kids who tried to attack. We reached the fight between the Ares cabin and Athena and found out that some of the Dionysus cabin was fighting. The Ares cabin saw their flag and yelled in disappointment. They stopped fighting and began to leave the forest, heading back for the Mess Hall, knowing it was hopeless. We put the flag in place next to the Athena flag and ran back into battle. Christina got half the Athena cabin to come with her. We followed her and jumped the creek, racing through the South Woods. Christina directed a third of the cabin to the right and another part to the left. We took third group with us straight ahead.

The next half hour was a blur. The other half of the Athena cabin back in North Woods had taken the Aphrodite and Dionysus/Demeter flag. We took the Hermes flag and headed for Apollo's. We met up with the right Athena team that we had divided when we entered South Woods. The Apollo cabin was showing off how well they could put arrows in the Athena cabins helmets. But they didn't care. They just kept fighting.

Several Apollo kids attacked me. Show-off 1 swung his blade to my feet as Show-off 2 did a head cut. I crouched and deflected the foot blow. I met Show-off 1's blade high in the air, and kicked him as I knocked number 2 onto the ground with my shield. Show-off 3 and 4 decided to play with bows and arrows. They brought them out and I summoned the Morph Sphere. It expanded and hardened into a blue shield that was in front of me. The arrows bounced off and the Morph Sphere shrunk back to a ball. I grinned.

I attacked number three, cutting his bow in half and hitting him over the head with my shield. Show-off 4 deflected my blow and feinted to the left. I fell for the trick and the Apollo kid kicked me in the chest. I jumped up and ducked as he sent his sword in a head cut. I met his blade and got in close, elbowing him in the chest. He stumbled and I felt pressure on my throat. I tried to turn around but couldn't. I felt my helmet be pulled off as one Apollo girl tried to get me in a headlock. I heard a low growl and the pressure on my throat loosen. I turned around and saw Christina. She was breathing hard but nodded and went back to battle. I kept swinging my blade back and forth at Show-off 4. He backed up and then attacked but I met his blade and got behind him, shouldering him down. Another one attacked and I flipped him onto his back and he got up and raced away. What a scaredy-cat.

Then I heard elated screams as Hunter raced away with the Apollo flag in his hands and a few Athena siblings following. The Apollo cabin yelled curses and reluctantly walked to the Mess Hall. When we reached our flag, my heart did a little dance. I saw the Aphrodite, Dionysus/Demeter, Hermes and Ares flag. The Hephaestus cabin was gone which meant the Dionysus/Demeter cabin had gotten the Hephaestus flag before we took theirs. We placed the Apollo flag there and Chiron blew the conch horn, signaling the game was over. The Athena cabin cheered and lifted Christina and I on their shoulder, carrying us to the amphitheater. The Ares cabin gave us dirty looks but one of the Athena kids said, "Hey, no dirty looks. Stop that."

Christina cracked up. I looked into her sea-green eyes which were filled with joyfulness and victory. They carried us all the way there and then we partied.

"Congratulations, Athena cabin!" Chiron praised as he handed the Athena cabin laurels. He gave me one and Christina raised her voice so she could be heard.

"It would've been difficult to get the flags I got without my brother Logan!" she announced, turning to smile at me. "Does anybody deny that?" No one said anything. Instead they stared at me as if I was a hero and not some loser that got in trouble all the time and came to camp not knowing anything. Then spontaneously, they broke out into an applause. I smiled like crazy and Christina high-five me.

After the party, Christina and I sat on the beach privately.

"You did great Logan. That was amazing fighting," she commented.

"Thanks. I mean sure, I got choked at one point but I guess I did ok. Not as good as you," I replied, staring across the water.

"That was nothing and you know that. You did just as well as I did and I think no one else can challenge me to saying you didn't. Yeah you did, but being choked is something that's happened to me. Only difference is I had no one to save me. You did. But besides that, you were awesome bro," she said, laying down in the sand, staring up at the starry night.

"You know, I'll admit that during the quest, I would sit and think about if I would ever be as good as you," I said. "I mean I'm not trying to put myself down but it's like your better at fighting than I am so I was wondering if I could beat you some day," I said. Christina didn't say anything for a minute.

"You know Logan, the only reason I fight so well is because I've had almost six years of training. It's not because of my parents and not because I'm a godly child. It's training. But Logan, I guarantee that you'll be as good as me, maybe even better. Well if you do become better than me, I'll have to beat you up in a fight harder," she teased.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," I answered, laughing.

"I hope it does," she replied sarcastically, but I could tell that there was a smile going with it. I laid down next to her and stared up at the night sky.

"You know when I was little, I use to think those stars were thousands upon thousands of fireflies."

"Really?" Christina questioned.

"Yeah."

"You know what me and Lillian thought they were?"

"What?"

"We use to think that those were bright moons that came out at night so we could play connect-the-dots with them," Christina laughed.

"Seriously?" I said.

"Yep. But as we were on the run, we met Alethia and she told us that they were constellations of the Greek heroes or animals. Then we met Lynch who actually thought they were big balls of fire. I mean they are in mortal eyes, but to us Greeks, they're heroes and animals who were released into the heavens," Christina replied. We laid in silence and finally Christina spoke again

"We should go to bed before the harpies get us."

"Yeah." She stood and helped me up. We trudged to the Poseidon cabin and when we reached it, we crawled into bed and before Christina's head hit the pillow, she was out. I fell asleep just as quickly.

I awoke in the morning to find Christina out of bed already. I walked to the Mess Hall after changing and saw that she was already having breakfast.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, sitting down after making the burnt offering.

"I tried to but you wouldn't wake up. I shook you but you still wouldn't wake," Christina said. I snorted.

"Are you sure because I didn't feel anything."

"Of course you wouldn't. You were asleep!" she exclaimed.

"That's weird though. I usually wake up on the first or second try," I replied. Christina nodded.

"I think it's because you were in deep sleep," she said. We ate our breakfast and went straight to the arena with Lillian. As the summer days wore on at camp, everything seemed to fall into place once again. One day, after practicing with Lillian and Christina and the Hermes cabin, I got a little surprise after lunch. As I was going down to the beach to take a break, Christina and Lillian caught up with me. We sat on the beach and Lillian and Christina talked quickly in Greek. Christina was hiding something behind her back.

"What?" I demanded after a while. "What do you have behind your back?" Christina smiled and pulled out two things. Three cupcakes with one that had a candle and a present.

"Happy Birthday Logan," she said. I was about to say 'what?' then I remembered it was July 15. I grinned and then hugged my sister.

"Thanks." She somehow had managed to get a hold of a match box. She lit my candle and I made my wish, blowing out the candle. We sat eating our cupcakes. I opened my present and found in there a book to help me with Greek. Then I looked under it and gasped. Under the Greek book, folded in a silk cloth was my very own bead necklace. The bead had a picture of an owl and a trident on a sea green background. At the top was my name engraved in Greek. Six names were spiraling around the owl and the trident. I looked closely and saw that the six names were Acacia, Alec, Kyra, Lillian, Christina and Alethia, their names in Greek.

"Wow. This is amazing. I…," I stuttered. I was completely tongue-tied.

"Christina, Acacia, Faber, Alec, Kyra, Alethia, Jason and I decided to come up with the new bead for this summer," Lillian explained.

"My gods. This is just amazing. You guys actually decided to put my name on it and not just make an ordinary bead?" I asked.

"Yeah. You're just as important as the rest of us. You did great," Christina said. "However, I would like to tell you something that might be a shocker," she added.

"What do you mean?"

"Logan, it's not just your birthday either," Christina replied.

"Ok. Whose is it then? It better not be Sophia's or I'm not wishing her 'Happy Birthday'. Because last Friday, when we did the 'Capture the Other Cabin's Flags', she nearly pulverized me after giving that look of, 'I'm going to kill you for sure this time'," I said solemnly.

"Logan, this is probably is definitely going to shock you but…," Lillian said. I waited. Lillian looked a little uneasy as Christina studied my face.

"Logan, it's also Christina's birthday," Lillian finished. I stopped eating and stared at Christina in disbelief.

"What?!" I choked. "It's yours also?" Christina folded up her unfinished cupcake and nodded.

"Oh…my…gods. Oh my gods. That is a shocker. Christina, that means we're twins!" I exclaimed, freaking out completely. She nodded grimly.

"But different moms," she said.

"That is scary," I admitted. I was silent, taking a few deep breaths, still trying to process part of this.

"You done freaking out?" Christina asked.

"Hold on, give me a second," I replied. "That is more than a shocker Lillian," I added. "That's a heart attack." She smiled.

"Yep, it sure is." I waited for a second before speaking.

"Well now that I'm over freaking out, I would like to say Christina, Happy Birthday also." She smiled.

"When I woke up today, I remembered that July 15th was your birthday. Then I realized it was mine also. When you first told me, I kind of tensed up and freaked out on the inside. But I slowly forgot for some reason. Anyways, when I realized it was mine, I ran to Lillian who freaked out also. So we decided to get you a cupcake and present and then tell you that it was mine also. We didn't want to tell you before so it wouldn't spoil the rest of the day before we gave you the stuff," Christina confessed.

"Oh. That's ok. No worries, no harm done," I said, looking Christina in the eyes. She smiled and we stood, walking the archery range.

As the days flew by and got hotter, the end of camp neared. I would be going back to Billanus Boarding Academy School. Christina and Lillian decided to stay back at camp and help protect the borders and see if they could figure out anything else about Lynch's plans.

The last day came and I stood at the top of the hill, watching as Argus helped haul the Aphrodite's Gucci and Victoria Secret bags down the hill. He loaded them into the van and the Aphrodite kids got in, the harpies driving them away. I heard footsteps and saw Christina walking up to stand next to me. Argus had grabbed my bag and was putting it in the van.

"You ready for middle school?" she asked. I shook my head and she chuckled.

"Don't worry Logan. You'll do fine. Trust me, if any monsters attack, I think you won't need my help," she replied. I laughed.

"Watch you show up at one point."

"Very funny," she smiled. "I'll check on you every once and a while with Iris-messaging and see how you're doing. Keep in contact to my closest brother," she said, gazing down the hill. I turned to stare at her.

"What? I thought your Athena brothers were your closest."

"No Logan. You are my closest brother because I met you and we went on and completed a quest together. I asked you instead and not any other kids to go on the quest because we started this together and we're going to end it together, no matter what stands in our way," Christina answered, locking eyes with me. I blinked and smiled at her.

"Thanks Christina."

"And if anyone gives you any trouble at school, call me up and I'll come and beat them to a grease spot for you," she added, laughing.

"Good to know that I've got a sister I can trust who can beat me up anytime also," I joked.

"Ha-ha." Argus honked his horn, signaling for me to hurry up. I took a deep breath and said,

"I guess this is it."

"Yeah, until next summer. Just don't get killed and do anything stupid ok?"

"I'll try not to. Besides, usually it's stupidity that tends to find me first."

"That doesn't make any sense Logan."

"No it doesn't," I laughed. I hugged Christina.

"I'll see you next summer Logan. Good luck," she said.

"You too." I trudged down the hill and hopped into the van. I saw Christina raise her hand in farewell and I did too. The van turned the corner and I thought about next summer and the new school year to come without looking back twice.

* * *

**A/N: AND THATS THE END TO THE MISSING DEMIGOD! **

******There is a second book to it which I have a poll up for readers of this book to vote for the title of the second book. The second book is already written, longer then this book but full of battles and non-stop action. All I need is a title for it and the poll will be up until 8/7/2012 and then I will post the results on my Profile at the bottom, including what the winning title name is for the new book. I will post CHAPTER ONE OF THE SECOND BOOK on AUGUST 8, 2012! So thank you so much for reading The Missing Demigod. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please review this chapter and tell me what you thought of the book and take a vote on my poll. Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!**


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